SHAMOKIN - A Shamokin man was cited for leaving the scene of an accident in the investigation of a crash at 11:30 p.m. Friday evening.
Shamokin City Police Cpl. Bryan Primerano cited Michael A. Knowles, 22, of 28 W. Willow St., for an accident involving damage to an unattended vehicle as a result of the crash at the intersection of Pearl and Chestnut streets.
According to a police report, officers were called to the scene after a 2003 Chevrolet van struck a parked 2000 Dodge Truck, owned by David P. Dimm, of Sunbury. When officers arrived on scene, they found the driver of the van had fled the scene, but his passenger, Melissa Bielawski, 20, of 325 N. Railroad St., Catawissa, stayed with the vehicle.
Bielawski told police that her father owned the van, but she allowed Knowles to drive it because she had been consuming alcohol in a wooded area prior to the accident.
She told police Knowles was traveling north on Pearl Street and then collided head-on into the 2000 Dodge truck that was parked facing south on the opposite side of the street from Knowles' lane of travel.
A witness told police Knowles was traveling at a high rate of speed and failed to stop at a stop sign. The witness said she saw a male exit the vehicle and flee the scene, while Bielawski also exited the vehicle.
The passenger was transported to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, for a complaint of pain. She was cited for underage drinking by Shamokin City Police.
After emergency crews were called to the scene because the van's engine caught fire, police noticed full cans of beer on the front floor of the vehicle.
Police said Knowles came to the Shamokin Police Station Saturday. They said he was the driver of the vehicle in the accident, but panicked and fled the scene.