The man accused of fleeing the scene of a crash that injured a bicyclist earlier this month in Ferguson Township is now facing additional felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from when police say he was on the run.
D. Jacob Eshelman, of New Enterprise, Bedford County, was charged on Friday with two felony counts each of burglary and criminal trespass, one misdemeanor count of theft and two summary offenses of criminal mischief-damage to property.
As previously reported, on June 3 Eshelman, 19, allegedly crashed a Pontiac Sunfire into a woman on a bicycle on Marengo Road near the intersection with Tadpole Road. Ferguson Township police said his car then veered off the road, went through a cornfield and crashed into a tree line before 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. A GoFundMe campaign has been established by the local cycling community, family and friends to help with her recovery.
Ferguson Township, Patton Township and state police searched the area, including use of a helicopter, but were unable to find him.
According to a criminal complaint, Eshelman was seen running into the wooded area of Rothrock State Forest. Police said they then found that he had broken into two hunting cabins on Pennsylvania Furnace Road in Franklin Township, Huntingdon County, by smashing windows. He allegedly consumed food and drink and stole a bicycle from one of the cabins.
He was located on June 5 riding the bicycle on Huntingdon Furnace Road in Franklin Township. Eshelman allegedly admitted to being the driver in the hit-and-run, fleeing the scene, breaking into two camps and taking the bike from one. He said he was planning to flee the state, according to police.
The Huntingdon County District Attorney’s Office granted Centre County jurisdiction on the new charges.
Since his arrest on June 5, Eshelman has been in the Centre County Correctional Facility in lieu of $40,000 bail. He was arraigned Friday on the new charges by District Judge Casey McClain, who set additional bail at $5,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Eshelman was initially charged with third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault by vehicle and accident involving personal injury, as well five summary motor vehicle offenses. He waived a June 12 preliminary hearing on those counts, which are now bound over for trial.
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 in late May.
