Pocono News Section

Two Face Charges After Summer Hit & Run

Two Face Charges After Summer Hit & Run - Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 06:19AM EST

KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY- Two Luzerne County women will face charges in the death of a hit & run victim. The accused are 23-year-old Megan Panowicz of Forty Fort and 63-year-old Linda Giordano of Kingston.

In August both women hit Sharon Shaugnessey when she was crossing Wyoming Avenue in Kingston. Shaugnessey was hit by 3 different drivers that night. One stopped, but Panowicz and Giordano kept driving.

Police say the two women didn't intentionally hit Shaughnessey, but all they had to do was stop. Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Mike Vough said, "When you see someone getting hit by the vehicle and you fail to call for help and get in your car and drive away, that's breaking the law. If they stopped and rendered aid they wouldn't have been charged."

The driver who stopped called for help. She won't be charged. Both Panozwicz and Giordano face a mandatory one year in prison if convicted of the charge. They're free on $25,000 bail.