Old Forge man arrested for hit-and-run that injured Scranton DPW employee

Dec. 01--Police say an Old Forge man struck a Scranton DPW employee and fled the scene Saturday, then tried to cover up the wreck by filing a fake accident report almost a day later.

Police apprehended Maxwell Materazzi-Hatala, 24, of Old Forge, Monday night. He is accused of striking Steven Pierson, 39, at 6 a.m. Saturday as the city Department of Public Works employee was collecting garbage in the 700 block of South Main Avenue in Scranton. Police began searching for an older-model black Toyota sedan with front-end and passenger-side damage.

On Sunday morning, Mr. Materazzi-Hatala reported an accident involving his vehicle to Old Forge police.

"Our officers responded to an accident on Sunday morning involving that vehicle," borough Police Chief Jason Dubernas said. "The driver called and said that he hit another vehicle and he had damage to the front of the car."

Scranton police received a tip that the car involved in the Saturday wreck was in Old Forge and reached out to borough police Monday, who made the connection to the wreck reported Sunday.

"Our officers assisted Scranton and advised them that we had an accident (Sunday) with that same vehicle," Chief Dubernas said. "They came to the conclusion that the accident from (Sunday) was just a cover-up."

Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano said police received a call about a sighting of the vehicle on Connell Street in Old Forge.

"We went down and identified it as the vehicle ... we determined it was the vehicle we were looking for," the chief said.

Chief Graziano said police located and apprehended Mr. Materazzi-Hatala at his "place of employment" in Old Forge. He declined to give further details.

"We're confident we have the vehicle and the person who was driving the vehicle," he said.

The chief said the Old Forge man will likely face charges of leaving the scene of an accident and failing to render aid, among other counts. He said the investigation was ongoing, in part to determine if further charges are warranted.

Mr. Materazzi-Hatala faces additional charges for staging a second accident Sunday with the same vehicle in Old Forge, filing a false police report and filing a fraudulent insurance claim for the damage to his personal vehicle, according to Chief Graziano.

Police had Mr. Materazzi-Hatala in custody Monday night. Bail and preliminary hearing information was not available.

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