Vehicle fluid, Halloween decoration help New Kensington police track down SUV in crash

New Kensington police accused a man of crashing through a fence on Freeport Road and tearing up the yard in early November after officers tracked a fluid leak from his SUV and found a Halloween decoration from the home on the vehicle’s hood.

Dillon James Lawther, 21, of the 1200 block of Hickory Road in Parks Township was charged with a felony count of criminal mischief and was issued traffic citations for reckless driving, an expired inspection and causing an accident resulting in property damage, according to a criminal complaint.

The charges were filed March 10, and Lawther was released from custody on a $25,000 unsecured bond, court records show. He was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on April 13.

Police responding to a 911 call about 5:30 a.m. Nov. 3 said there were tire tracks on the front lawn of a home in the 700 block of Catalpa Street that went nearly 300 feet through multiple yards until crashing through a fence and stopping in a yard in the 500 block of Freeport Road, the complaint said.

Police said they saw vehicle parts scattered in the yards along the route, fencing that was destroyed and cracks in the sidewalk.

Serial numbers on the vehicle parts that were found identified it as a BMW.

There also was a roughly 0.3-mile long trail of fluid from a vehicle leading to the 800 block of North Street, where police found a white, 2008 BMW X5 sport utility vehicle registered to Lawther.

Police said there was an orange Halloween decoration on the hood that was on display at the home along Freeport Road before the crash, the complaint said.

Police said an officer questioned Lawther on Dec. 7, and Lawther admitted that he crashed the SUV and fled the scene.

The crash caused more than $6,250 in damage to three properties, police said.