Police have arrested the man who allegedly fled the scene after crashing a car into a bicyclist Monday in Ferguson Township.
D. Jacob Eshelman, of New Enterprise, Bedford County, was taken into custody by Ferguson Township police on Wednesday and charged with third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault by vehicle and accident involving personal injury, as well five summary motor vehicle offenses.
At about 1:15 p.m. on Monday, a Pontiac allegedly driven by the 19-year-old Eshelman crashed into a bicyclist on the 4400 block of Tadpole Road, near the intersection with Marengo Road. Police said the car then traveled off the road about 100 yards through a cornfield before the Eshelman got out and fled on foot.
The bicyclist, a 66-year-old woman from Port Matilda, sustained broken bones in her ankle, leg, pelvis, ribs and vertebrae. She was taken first to Mount Nittany Medical Center and later to Hershey Medical Center.
Ferguson Township, Patton Township and state police searched the area for several hours on Monday but were unable to locate Eshelman. Police issued a call for the public’s assistance on Tuesday.
Police received a report that Eshelman was riding a bicycle near Route 45 and located him on Wednesday on Huntingdon Furnace Road, according to a criminal complaint. Eshelman allegedly admitted to being the driver and fleeing, saying he hid in the woods, broke into two hunting camps and was planning to flee Pennsylvania.
According to court records, Eshelman was charged last fall in Bedford County with statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bail and that case is still pending in Bedford County Court, with a continuance granted last week.
Eshelman was arraigned by District Judge Casey McClain on Wednesday afternoon. He was unable to post $40,000 straight monetary bail and is being held at the Centre County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 12.
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