Dec 4, 2013 3 min read

An off-duty Cecil Township police officer, Detective Mark Marcucci, was struck by a car shortly before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday as he rode his bicycle north on McConnell Road. The driver, an older man wearing a hat, who was driving a dark-colored vehicle with a handicapped sign hanging from the rear-view mirror, failed to stop.

The impact spun Marcucci’s bicycle and threw him from it. He was wearing a helmet.

Marcucci said he was about 23 miles into a 26-mile ride when the carbon-fiber bicycle was struck from behind.

“I thought the bike blew up,” he said.

Marcucci suffered an injured hip and cuts on his wrist and fingers from striking the pavement. He also complained of shoulder pain. Marcucci was checked by emergency personnel at the scene and did not require hospital transport.

“There are no broken bones,” he said.

The driver’s car was damaged by the impact and police were able to collect a side-view mirror and other pieces of the automobile. An attempt will be made to determine the car’s make and model. Marcucci said the driver turned on McConnell Road from the nearby Fleeher plan.

A witness told Marcucci, 45, no vehicles were traveling in the opposite direction, which could have caused the driver to swerve into the bike.

Marcucci said he prefers to ride on the road versus the adjacent Montour Trail as the trail is flat and he likes to bike on the hills.

This is the second time Marcucci has been hit by a vehicle while riding. The first time, he said, he was struck by a car’s side mirror. However, he was not thrown from the bike and was not injured.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 724-743-0940 during regular work hours or 911.

Marcucci’s accident occurred 2 1/2 days after the department’s K-9, Miner, a 6-year-old German shepherd, was struck by a car during a foot chase. That accident happened Sunday night on Morganza Road. The dog suffered only minor injuries and was back working Monday with Officer Jeff Holt.

Holt was off-duty Sunday when he was called out with Miner to assist in the search of a man suspected of stealing a pickup truck earlier that day.

Chuck Edward Buchko, 36, of Brookville, Jefferson County, was taken into custody at about 8:40 p.m. and was placed in Washington County jail on a state parole violation.

Holt and Miner were chasing Buchko along Morganza Road, when a vehicle went around the stopped police car with the emergency lights activated and headed toward the pair. Holt moved out of the way, but Miner was struck by the front passenger side of the vehicle. Medics checked the dog’s vital signs before Miner was taken to the Castle Shannon Emergency Veterinary Clinic for treatment.