Driver Hit 2 People and Fled, Police Say

Three hours after a South Bethlehem man allegedly ran over two people with a truck late Thursday night, he called 911 and told an operator that he thought he ran over a dog earlier in the evening, police said.

Willie Brickhouse, 61, of 511 Cherokee St., has been charged with two felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident and is under investigation for drunken driving, according to court papers.

The two victims were both seriously injured, police said. Both were taken to St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill for treatment.

Luis Pagan, 21, suffered two broken legs, a dislocated knee, a lacerated kidney and internal bleeding in his abdomen, police said. Alexus Williams, 18, suffered head injuries that required stapling, a possible broken leg and a broken finger.

The collision occurred at about 10:30 p.m. on the 300 block of Broadway. The driver fled the scene, police said.

About two hours later, police located a vehicle matching the description collision eyewitnesses had given. It was a GMC Yukon with “substantial front end damage,” parked on the 700 block of Dakotah Street, police said.

Brickhouse called 911 at 1:25 a.m. to report that he thought he had hit a dog on the 300 block of Broadway several hours earlier, the arrest affidavit said.

Police responding to Brickhouse’s home found that he had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, the affidavit said. “He was mumbling at me,” wrote Jonathan Isaac, the arresting officer.

A search warrant requesting a sample of Brickhouse’s blood was among the court papers on file.

Brickhouse told police that he stopped the truck after he felt impact, looked around and saw nothing and then drove off, the affidavit said.

Despite the arrest, police are still seeking the public’s help in sorting out the details of the incident. Anyone who witnessed or anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Bethlehem Police Officer David Horvath at 610-865-7187.

Brickhouse was arraigned before District Judge Robert A. Hawke in Lehigh Township and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail.