East Donegal man charged in Columbia hit & run

NATHAN WILLISON | LNP Staff Writer

An East Donegal Township man is facing criminal charges after police say he struck a 13-year-old with his truck and fled the scene last month. 

Derek Scott Mohr, 28, is charged with causing an accident involving death or injury without a license, failing to stop to render aid, driving at an unsafe speed and related charges. 

Mohr had been driving a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado through Chestnut Street in Columbia around 8 p.m. March 20 when he struck a 13-year-old boy riding a motorized scooter and continued driving, according to charging documents filed by police. 

When police arrived, they found the boy with a broken leg and a cut to his forehead. His scooter was lying nearby, its handlebars completely snapped off. 

Another teenager who witnessed what happened described the truck to police and said that the driver made no attempt to stop after striking the boy. Surveillance footage collected from the area shows the truck striking the boy and driving away, police said. 

Following the incident, police released a statement requesting assistance from the public in identifying the driver, and a tipster told investigators Mohr owned the truck.

According to an affidavit, police found Mohr and the truck which showed blunt force damage to its front bumper, grill and hood. Police say Mohr admitted operating the vehicle when it struck the teenager. Mohr told police it had been raining at the time, and he did not see the teenager in the intersection. Mohr told investigators he left the scene because he was unsure of what he had struck.

At the time of the incident, Mohr’s license had been expired for just under a month, police said. 

Mohr is currently awaiting a preliminary hearing, and bail conditions have not been set, according to court documents. An attorney representing Mohr was not listed in his docket as of Wednesday afternoon.