Elderly Driver At Delallo's Store Hits, Kills Elderly Man

HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- State police have not decided whether charges will be filed against an elderly woman who they said ran over an elderly man, killing him in the parking lot of a store in Hempfield, Westmoreland County.

A witness told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that the man -- identified as Richard Crouse, 80, of Old Route 130 -- was walking toward Delallo's Italian Foods on Route 30 when the car struck him and damaged an awning.

Vera Myers, a witness, rushed to get inside the market shortly after 9 a.m., saying it was rainy and windy. Little did she know, she said, the soggy conditions outside may have helped save her life.

Myers said she heard a loud noise as soon as the doors closed.

"I realized in a matter of minutes I was too close," she said.

The driver -- an 82-year-old Jeannette woman -- was backing out of her handicapped parking spot. Police said she told them she could see Crouse from the rear-view mirror, but she accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.

"When we got here, we had seen that a patient was under the vehicle," High Park Volunteer Fire Chief John Howell said.

Crouse was pronounced dead at the scene.

"I felt bad for her. You look in the car and you see this elderly woman. She was pretty shaken; you could see her trembling," Myers said.

Myers said she feels blessed she missed the accident by a matter of seconds but she grieves for the victim's family.

"I can't imagine sending someone to the store and they're not even coming back," she said.

The driver was taken to a hospital after becoming distraught, police said.

State police are still investigating. The decision to file charges or not will be up to District Attorney John Peck's office.