Driver charged in Allentown hit-and-run

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ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Authorities have arrested the driver accused in a hit-and-run crash that injured a woman and her daughter in Allentown last December.

Allentown police charged Charles Rasley, no confirmable address, with a misdemeanor count of accident involving injury in connection to the hit-and-run at North 12^th and Chew streets on Dec. 15. The 40-year-old also faces summary counts of careless driving, failing to render aid and driving with a suspended license.

Police were dispatched to the intersection shortly after 8 a.m. Dec. 15 and found the woman laying on the ground, complaining of pain to her right side and leg, according to court records. She and her daughter were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Witnesses told police that a copper-colored Chrysler Town and County hit the woman and her child before fleeing south on North 12^th Street. A witness took photos of the driver and the vehicle, according to records.

Officers found the minivan nearby and tracked down the owner. The owner told police that Rasley had walked into the apartment that morning, tossed her the keys and said he was in an accident. He also reportedly told her “the cops are outside.”

He ran from the area and could not immediately be found. Court records do not specify the nature of the relationship between Rasley and the minivan’s owner.

District Judge Donna Butler arraigned Rasley Sunday night, setting bail at $25,000. After failing to post bail, he was sent to Lehigh County Jail to await a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for March 26.