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By TOM OBRZUT JR.; Times Leader Staff Writer
Friday, November 12, 1993 Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: POLICE SEEK DRIVER IN
HIT-AND-RUN FATAL
HUGHESTOWN — Borough resident Paul Loiacono died Thursday morning from
injuries suffered in a hit-and-run accident that has turned into a homicide
investigation.
Police Chief George DeLucia said Loiacono, 33, was walking home along the
edge of Rock Street about 500 feet from his house at about 2:15 a.m. when he
was struck. Loiacono died about five hours later at Community Medical Center,
Scranton.
After examining evidence at the scene, including broken headlights and a
smashed bug deflector, DeLucia said the vehicle police are looking for is
either a 1983 or 1984 Chevrolet full-size pickup truck. The driver can expect
to be charged with homicide by motor vehicle, DeLucia said.
The force of the collision threw Loiacono more than 90 feet from the point
of impact, the police chief said.
He said Loiacono lay along the roadway for almost an hour before a passing
motorist spotted him.
DeLucia said that although some drivers speed on Rock Street, he didn’t
know if speeding was involved in the accident.
“You could put a sign up there and put them 10 feet apart and nobody pays
attention to them,” he said. “Especially at quarter after two in the morning.”
Loiacono’s mother, Marion, pleaded with drivers to slow down.
“Please, please, don’t go so fast,” she said. “If you hit something, even
if it’s a cat or a dog, stop and see what can be done.”
DeLucia said a neighbor heard the noises from the crash, but didn’t think
anything of it. It was almost an hour before police were called.
Neighbors said Loiacono was a quiet man who kept to himself. He lived with
his wife and worked two jobs, they said. “He didn’t bother with us,” one said.
DeLucia said police interviewed a witness Thursday afternoon and said the
investigation is continuing. He plans to meet today with Luzerne County
District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.
If you have any information on the hit-and-run, call the Luzerne County
Communications Center at 655-3711 cq or the Hughestown Police Department at
654-2082. cq An answering machine at the police station will record messages,
DeLucia said.
Staff writer Jerry Lynott contributed to this report.