Police: 2nd car involved in fatal Penn Hills hit and run

Investigators said Tuesday they believe a second car was involved in the April hit and run in Penn Hills that killed a man as he walked home from work.

Prosecutors said in a bond hearing for suspect Surron Burch that they do not believe Burch drove the vehicle that dragged 51-year-old Joseph Morris nearly half a mile along Hershey Avenue.

Allegheny County police Inspector Andrew Schurman said in a statement it’s been “definitively established” that the Saturn driven by Burch that night is the one that initially struck Morris as he walked home from work. That initial crash would have incapacitated Morris. Investigators believe a second vehicle headed south on Hershey then hit Morris and dragged him a half mile to the intersection on Universal Road.

Police have not identified that second vehicle, Schurman said, but it is believed to be a sedan. He said it likely would have sustained damage to the front end and the undercarriage.

Police are offering up to an $8,000 reward for information regarding the second car.

Morris was walking south when he was hit by the Saturn, which was traveling north, Schurman said. Police searched for a light blue Saturn for weeks after the April 28 incident, and a May 10 tip led them to a McKeesport housing complex.

The Saturn’s owner, Modesty Hopper, refused to say who was driving her car the night Morris was killed, police said. She subsequently fled after she was charged with hindering apprehension. She turned herself in May 15.

Burch, too, was arrested by a fugitive task force May 15. He is charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, accidents involving death or injury and a number of driving violations – including driving with a suspended license.