Man suspected in Derry Township hit-and-run surrenders to authorities

The suspect in a Derry Township hit-and-run that left a Latrobe woman seriously injured surrendered to authorities Friday morning.

Bobby Paul Bryer, 30, posted $50,000 bail through a bail bondsman. He is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle, accidents involving death or personal injury and several related offenses, including speeding.

Trooper Steve Limani said investigators are still looking for the red Dodge pickup truck suspected to be involved in the incident outside Union Mission, near Latrobe. Anyone with information on its whereabouts is asked to call 911 or state police Kiski station at 724-697-5780.

Limani said anyone who tries to fix the truck or hide it could be facing a tampering with evidence charge. He praised the community cooperation troopers received in the case and said they need it again now.

“Luckily, with great help from the people in the community, we were able to get information, viable information, that led us to the point where we’re at today,” he said. “We applaud anybody that has information to come forward, be brave, if you want to do it anonymously, do so.”

Bryer arrived at district court Friday with his attorney Dick Galloway, who said Bryer has lived here his entire life and works part-time in Georgia. His address is less than a half-mile from Union Mission. Bryer told District Judge Kelly Tua Hammers that he is unemployed.

She rejected a request from Galloway that an unsecured bond be set, pointing, in part, to Bryer’s failure to respond to a summons on a harassment citation filed Dec. 16 by state police and issues he described about receiving mail.

“I’m not really confident that you’d be here” at your preliminary hearing, Hammers said.

Mary Bathurst, 42, was seriously injured Jan. 22 when a truck hit her outside Union Mission, where she works as a facility attendant. She was walking along the berm of Harrison Avenue before 6 p.m. to take out the trash with two shelter residents. Police said the collision knocked her 40 feet away, where she slammed into a wooden fence. The driver stopped briefly at the scene and then fled. Bathurst remains in a hospital, though she is expected to survive.

“Hopefully, they see this day as a small victory in their long course of recovery,” Limani said.

Investigators were led to Bryer through interviews with an acquaintance and his wife.

The acquaintance told investigators Bryer visited her home Sunday and mentioned to her husband he hit something on the side of the road the night before after drinking, according to court papers. On Tuesday, police said they talked to Bryer’s wife, who said he left their home to pick up food and, when he returned, admitted to hitting something on the side of the road.

The wife told authorities Bryer knew he had hit a person, police say. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 9.