Charges Laid Two Years After Fatal Crash

Just about two years after his high-profile arrest by a SWAT team, Nicholas Angelo Napoli was charged for a December 2017 hit-and-run crash that killed a Bristol Township man.

Napoli, a former resident of Bristol Township’s Croydon section who is serving time in a state correctional institution, was arraigned last week on charges of accidents involving death, accident involving death while not properly licensed, flight to avoid apprehension, driving while license suspended, driving without a license, following to closely, careless driving resulting in an unintentional death, failure to stop and render aid, and failure to notify police of an accident with death. Napoli’s bail was set at 10 percent of $30,000.

According to court papers filed by Bristol Township police, emergency crews were called to the 2900 block of State Road in Croydon on December 4, 2017 at 7:06 a.m. for a crash with injuries. They arrived and found a pedestrian with a serious injuries and witnesses who said the driver of the striking Ford Focus had fled into the woods. 

The force of the crash threw the pedestrian into thick brush just off the roadway. Police said medics, officers, and bystanders were needed to get the injuried man – identified as James H. Aufschlag, 46, of Croydon – out of the woods and onto a waiting ambulance. He later died of his injuries.

Numerous officers and a K-9 unit were used to search the wooded swamp near the crash scene. The driver of the Ford Focus was not located at the time, police said.

A crash investigation found that the Ford Focus was traveling eastbound on State Road and was following closely behind another car. To avoid a crash when the vehicle in front hit the brakes, the Ford Focus swerved onto the shoulder where Aufschlag was walking and struck him with no apparent signs of attempting to stop. The Ford Focus came to rest in a ditch and the driver took off, police said.

Dashcam video, witnesses statements, and were collected from the scene.

Investigators went to a Pine Needle Road home in the township’s Levittown section to talk with the owner of the vehicle. The vehicle owner’s father supplied investigators with video that showed Napoli, 34, going into the home for about an hour and then driving off in the vehicle, police said.

Several officers recognized Napoli and he matched the witness descriptions from the scene of the fatal crash, police said.

At the time of the crash, Napoli’s license was suspended due to a DUI, court papers stated.

A witness to the crash ended up contacting police after seeing his photo in TV and online news coverage following the December 7, 2017 standoff on Pond Street in Bristol Borough. They said the man in the photo was the driver of the striking Ford Focus, police said.

A man who was with Napoli just before the standoff told investigators that the man had mentioned the crash and said he felt bad, but “it is what it is,” police said.

Napoli was taken into custody following the standoff inside the Pond Street home. Tactical officers from around Lower Bucks County ended up arresting him after breaching the residence. The standoff shutdown a large area surrounding the scene and caused schools to lockdown.

The U.S. Marshal Service, who was searching for Napoli, said a tip from a LevittownNow.com reader helped law enforcement find the wanted man in 2017.

In December 2017, Napoli was considered a “person of interest” in the State Road hit and run, but police did not want to name him a suspect.

Court papers did not detail why it took nearly two years for charges to be filed.

Aufschlag was a Philadelphia sports fan and a lifelong Croydon resident. He was employed at Railway Specialties at the time of his death, according to his obituary.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.

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