A 67-year-old man was arrested Tuesday and charged with the hit-and run death of a Mercer County, N.J. father as he walked to pick up a pet for his son.
William Paskewicz, 40, of Hamilton, was walking east on Robbinsville-Allentown Road when he was struck by a dark metallic-blue-colored vehicle, possibly a mid-200s Ford F Series Super Duty pickup, around 5:45 p.m. Sunday, according to Robbinsville Police.
On Tuesday morning, police say they got a tip that a damaged blue 2006 Ford F-250 Super Duty Pickup was parked in the driveway of a home on Ivanhoe Drive in Robbinsville. Police say damage to the truck was consistent with the deadly wreck so they towed away the pickup and got an arrest warrant for its owner Robert Cheney.
Police say that Cheney was charged with death by auto and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. His bail was set at 10 percent of $100,000.
The deadly crash left Paskewicz near death on the roadway. He was pronounced dead shortly after officials arrived.
Paskewicz ran a landscaping and handyman business and was well known by many in the community. NBC10 spoke to Paskewicz's friend who told us he dropped him off shortly before he was killed. Nelson says Paskewicz was walking a few houses down to get a pet ferret for his son.
"I couldn't believe it myself because I just finished talking to him," said Chris Nelson. "The car didn't slow down or anything. You just heard a big thud, bam, it kept going. No skidding, breaking, anything.
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"I'm just hoping the cops get him and I'm pretty sure they will," said Nelson. "I just can't believe somebody would hit somebody and not even stop."
Nelson tells NBC10 he brought Paskewicz's father to the scene. The two lived together.
"His dad actually depends on him because he's the only one that's left in the family," said Nelson. "His mom just passed away recently."
