A Bensalem Township man will head to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas for trial on charges he hit and killed man with his vehicle on Christmas Eve 2021.
District Judge Frank Peranteau held charges of accidents involving death or personal injury, tampering with physical evidence, and failure to stop and give information or render aid against Kevin Michael Baker Jr., 20, over for trial following a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Bristol Borough.
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John Dugan, 65, of Croydon, died after he fell and was struck by a pickup truck on Christmas Eve just past 5 p.m. along State Road in the area of Fourth Avenue in Bristol Township’s Croydon section.
Following a grand jury investigation and recommendation of charges, Baker surrendered to police.
Dugan’s fiancee claimed that he had “two left feet” and several medical conditions that made it difficult for him to walk. She tried to get him up as soon as he fell in the roadway, but, according to the grand jury presentation, a pickup truck “passed me extremely fast and hit John.”
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Dugan, a grandfather and U.S. Army veteran, was rushed by ambulance and pronounced dead at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia.
The deadly hit-and-run received significant media coverage, and in the week that followed, pictures of the hit-and-run pickup vehicle appeared online.
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Tips led Bristol Township police to Baker, who came to the police station with his dad. His pickup truck was surrendered.
“Officer Margerum performed an inspection on Kevin Baker Jr.’s red Chevy Silverado. During the inspection, Officer Margerum observed damage to the truck that was consistent with the crash that caused John Dugan’s death. Officer Margerum noted that the vehicle was otherwise ‘super clean.’ Officer Margerum brought the bottom shroud of the bumper from Baker Jr.’s truck to Grand Jury and presented the damage to that vehicle part that related to this crash, including a rip repair in the area of the driver’s side fog light,” the grand jury wrote.
Baker most likely would not have been held criminally accountable for Dugan’s death if he had not fled the scene, according to Bristol Township police Officer Kenneth Margerum, a crash reconstruction officer and lead investigator.
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The grand jury wrote the inquiry determined that speeding was not a contributing issue and that Baker would probably have had difficulty seeing Dugan once he fell.
The night of the collision, Baker and his girlfriend had just left a family gathering in Croydon and were traveling toward Bensalem Township.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Lou Busico, Baker’s attorney, said his client wasn’t aware he hit someone, noting it was hard to see at dusk.
“In no way do I want to depreciate the horrific loss experienced by the Dugan family,” Busico told the newspaper. “But at the end of the day, [Baker] wasn’t aware anything happened, he wasn’t aware of the police investigation, and that is why this case fails.”
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Assistant District Attorney Jovin Jose reported there was security camera footage showing the pickup truck driving erratically shortly after the crash, the newspaper account said.
Baker is free on $15,000 cash bail.
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