Off-Duty Officer Helps Nab Driver Who Allegedly Hit Fence

An off-duty Lower Saucon Township police officer is being credited with helping police locate a man who allegedly damaged a fence in an accident.

According to a LSTPD news release issued Wednesday, Cpl. Tim Connell was off-duty when he witnessed a gold Chevy sedan hit a fence in the 2500 block of Black River Road shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday.

After witnessing the accident, police say Connell called an on-duty officer and reported the driver was leaving the scene.

He then “followed the offending vehicle, leading (the) on-duty officer” to him as he was pulling into the parking lot of Rite-Aid in Hellertown, police said.

Police identified the man as Thomas Lucas, of the 1700 block of Stonesthrow Road, Upper Saucon Township, and said his vehicle had damage consistent with the accident Connell witnessed.

Lucas told police he’d slid on a patch of ice and didn’t realize he had damaged someone’s property, the release said.

However, at the accident scene, police said they found a fence post “completely snapped off at ground level,” tracks in the snow and a piece from Lucas’ car.

Police said Lucas was cited for allegedly driving too fast for conditions and warned about his duty to report an accident involving property damage.