Nemacolin man charged with striking toddler with dirt bike
A Nemacolin man has been charged following an incident last month when he allegedly lost control of his dirt bike and crashed it into a toddler.
According to a criminal complaint, Robert Wayne Gibson, 51, of 258 Grant St., had been driving a dirt bike along Grant Street at “a high rate of speed” around 8:15 p.m. July 31 when he lost control of it. The bike slid on its side into a 3-year-old boy who had been sitting outside at the child’s family’s residence, the complaint said.
The boy was treated by members of the Nemacolin Volunteer Fire Department before he was taken to Uniontown Hospital with head injuries. The complaint does not specify the extent of the boy’s injuries, and Cumberland Township police did not return a phone call Wednesday for clarification. Gibson, however, was not charged with any felonies.
According to the complaint, Gibson had stayed at the scene until he was confronted by a witness to the crash, Joseph Liston. Liston told police that when he confronted Gibson, Gibson fled on the dirt bike back to his house, before allegedly fleeing his home on foot.
Police said they searched the area for Gibson with no success. Gibson was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury, reckless driving and speeding. The charges were filed Tuesday, but Gibson has not yet been arraigned, according to court documents.