Hempfield hit-and-run victim gives police photo of alleged driver, leads to arrest

Jan. 15—As Eugene Hunter was being wheeled to an ambulance on a gurney Thursday afternoon, he handed state police a cell phone he said contained a photo of the driver who ran him down in a Hempfield parking lot.

Trooper Tristan Tappe reported in court documents that the photograph, taken moments before Hunter, 37, was struck by an SUV, was vital in the arrest of 20-year-old Bradley A. Cook in connection with the incident in the West Hempfield Townhomes complex on Lenhart Avenue.

Cook of Sewickley Township was arrested a few hours later by state police and charged with aggravated assault, failing to stop and render aid, reckless endangerment and simple assault. He was also cited for driving without a license and driving without insurance, according to court dockets.

"I had just taken the picture because I was mad they were speeding through the apartments here because we have a lot of kids, then I heard the engine rev up and, the next thing I know, I'm on the hood," Hunter said of the incident.

Hunter got home just after 1 p.m. to the apartment complex operated by the Westmoreland County Housing Authority and was heading to his apartment when he came upon a domestic argument in a nearby apartment involving his ex-girlfriend and her adult son, who was a passenger in Cook's SUV.

Tappe wrote in court documents that evidence indicates Cook "intentionally struck the victim."

"I never met (Cook) before. My ex-girlfriend's son was trying to force his way in his mother's apartment and I said something...," Hunter said.

Hunter said his ex's son was accompanied by Cook and the pair got back into Cook's gold Chrysler Pacifica to move it and sped down the street.

"I threw a Mountain Dew bottle at them because the speed limit through here is 10 miles per hour and, like I said, we have a lot of kids around... then (Cook) stopped, got out and wanted to fight me. Then he turned around and went back to his car," Hunter said.

"I took the picture and was going to call 911 to report them. Next thing I knew, I heard the engine rev up and I'm on the hood and into the windshield," Hunter said.

"I nudged up on the hood and grabbed a windshield wiper because (C00k) wasn't slowing down and I didn't want to get out to the main road where there was a lot of traffic so I rolled off the hood on the driver's side onto the road. (Cook) knocked me out of one of my boots when he hit me with his bumper and both my cell phone and car keys were found in a yard near where I was hit," Hunter said.

Hunter said he was glad his daughter found his cell phone with the photographs in time to provide evidence to troopers.

Hunter was taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, where he was treated for multiple injuries, abrasions and contusions and a missing front tooth. He said his daughter found his tooth laying in the street.

"I wouldn't let anyone move me until paramedics got there... I had a big knot on my head that I was really worried about. I do feel a lot better today than yesterday, but I'm still really sore" he said.

"In the emergency room, as I was being treated, they were all telling me I was really lucky I didn't have more injuries or even worse," he said.

While acquaintances and friends are upset that Cook was released from custody on $50,000 unsecured bond after his arraignment in night court Thursday, Hunter said "I'm not mad about that."

"Like I told the trooper, I just want him prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. There's no reason for someone to do that and he should be held accountable," Hunter said.

Two other occupants who were in Cook's SUV are not charged.

A woman who answered Cook's phone and identified herself as his mother Friday said they would have no comment and hung up. Cook did not have an attorney listed in court documents.

Online court dockets indicate Cook has no prior criminal record in Pennsylvania.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, [email protected] or via Twitter .

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