ALLENTOWN, PA – A Philadelphia delivery driver has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder in connection with a fatal hit-and-run that left a 29-year-old Allentown man dead following a violent roadway confrontation last month.
District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca announced that Troy Johnson, 30, was taken into custody Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Service and Allentown Police in Philadelphia. Johnson faces charges of third-degree murder and hit-and-run resulting in death in the killing of Rigoberto Hernandez Arias.
The deadly encounter occurred on the night of November 21 at Emmaus Avenue and South 4th Street. Police responding to the scene found Hernandez Arias lying in the roadway with severe injuries. Officers performed emergency life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Lehigh County Coroner ruled his death a homicide caused by blunt force injuries from a pedestrian-motor vehicle collision.
Investigators say video evidence and multiple witness statements indicate that a verbal altercation took place between Johnson, who was driving a delivery van, and Hernandez Arias, who had exited his Nissan SUV at a stoplight. Witnesses reported that Johnson continued driving with the victim clinging to the hood of his van for nearly a quarter-mile before violently braking, running over Hernandez Arias, and fleeing the area.
The case was investigated by Allentown Police Detective Jonathan Manning and Lehigh County Homicide Task Force Detective Kevin Mriss.