A New Jersey man is charged with the hit-and-run death of a Bristol Township man last month.
Daniel Stephen Dietrich, 45, was arraigned on Friday on charges alleging he punched Jason Smith, 47, at a Bristol Township McDonald’s and then fled the scene on February 5.
Dietrich, of Palmyra, Burlington County, is charged with manslaughter, accidents resulting in death or personal injury and accidents resulting in death or personal injury without a license. He was booked into Bucks County Jail without bond.
Bristol Township police and Bucks County detectives received a tip Thursday about the vehicle that struck Smith, according to court documents. Smith was fatally struck by a truck while in the McDonald’s parking lot along Route 13, also called Bristol Pike, around 4 p.m.
The ad included a photo of the truck, which investigators were able to trace to a home in Palmyra.
Police monitored the home and found Dietrich, who had an active warrant for his arrest in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, getting into the van, police said. Dietrich was then arrested.
Dietrich spoke to police and told them that he got into an altercation with Smith on February 5, according to court documents. He said he had turned onto Route 13 from Interstate 95, and that he may have cut Smith off as he was pulling up, police allege.
He told police Smith refused to run a green light at the intersection of Haines Road and Route 13, forcing him to turn toward the nearby McDonald’s, according to police. Authorities viewed surveillance footage of that intersection and saw that this was not the case.
Police said Smith turned onto Haines Road and turned left at McDonald’s, with Dietrich following him the entire time, according to court documents.
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Smith parked next to the restaurant as Dietrich backed into a spot in the parking lot, authorities said.
Dietrich told investigators that Smith got out and got into his truck to remove something, later identified as a hammer, and approached Dietrich’s truck, authorities said.
Dietrich then punched Smith and fled, the charging documents allege. He did not stop to check on Smith and admitted that he did not call 911 because his license was suspended, police said.
Authorities reviewed surveillance footage and determined that Dietrich could have avoided hitting Smith if he had turned right instead of left, according to court documents.
Smith was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Smith, who lived in the Bristol area for six years and lived near Haines Road, was originally from the Easton area. He worked as a forklift operator and truck driver for Kelly Pipe in Fairless Hills.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s office is expected to release additional information on Monday.
Come back later for updates.
This article originally appeared in the Bucks County Courier Times: NJ man charged with fatally beating Levittown man outside McDonald’s