The ramifications from a late-March hit-and-run crash in Mount Carmel will continue to unfold into the new year.
Victor E. Swaboski III, 39, of 320 S. Beech St., Mount Carmel, was behind the wheel of a Jeep Liberty on March 28 when he drove into a group of five teens walking along the Locust Gap Highway outside Mount Carmel Area Elementary.
The teens, all Mount Carmel Area students, were between the ages of 13 and 18.
Police say Swaboski was drunk and fled the scene in his vehicle, dragging a bicycle beneath the Jeep as he drove into the borough, causing sparks to shoot about.
When he was found hiding in a wooded area at Seventh and Poplar streets, just two blocks from his home and more than 1/2 mile from the accident scene, he had two cans of beer, one of which was opened, police allege.
Police say his blood alcohol content was 0.225 percent, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Swaboski was initially charged with 21 criminal counts, 11 of them felonies, and submitted his resignation in early April as a teacher at Shamokin Area Elementary School.
He's since retained an attorney and has begun his defense, including the dismissal on Nov. 29 of three of five felony counts of aggravated assault by vehicle when a Northumberland County judge found the injuries to three of the teens did not merit that charge.
Two of the aggravated assault charges remain with concern to two teens who sustained severe pelvis and back injuries, respectively.
Swaboski's counsel on Dec. 14 filed a motion seeking the dismissal of four of five counts of fleeing the scene of an accident. A judge's order issued Friday asks prosecutors to present a brief of opposition no later than Jan. 21.
At least two of the teens involved in the crash have retained attorneys as well, and two filed civil suits in June and July, respectively, seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Swaboski and the owners of a Coal Township restaurant, Brewser's Sports Grille, where he had allegedly been drinking alcohol prior to the crash.
Swaboski's criminal case is expected to play out before resolution of the civil matter.