Police

NEW CASTLE

•Hit-and-run accident. Police said someone hit the front bumper of a red 2003 Ford Ranger while it was parked Feb. 21 at the Slovak Club on West Chartes Street, causing slight damage. A witness reported seeing a white minivan hit the vehicle while going in reverse and leaving the scene.

•Hit-and-run accident. Police said a New Castle woman was traveling south on South Jefferson Street when she was struck from behind by a vehicle at 2:17 p.m. Feb. 23. The driver told police the force of the impact caused a whiplash effect and her neck was hurting. There was moderate damage to the rear bumper of her 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier. Witnesses reported seeing a blue Pontiac sedan hit the vehicle and leave the scene. The driver was transported by Medevac Ambulance to Jameson Hospital. Shaffer’s Towing removed the vehicle from the scene.

•Criminal mischief. Someone broke the rear passenger window to a vehicle parked in the 200 block of East Edgewood Avenue between midnight and 5 p.m. Saturday. Items reported missing were a case of 200 CDs, valued at $3,000; an iPod Touch, $350; and a Kodak digital camera, $200.

•Criminal mischief. Someone shattered the windshield of a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier that was parked in the 400 block of Galbreath Street about 10 p.m. Sunday. Police found a shovel near the vehicle. Damages also included a dent in the front driver’s side quarter panel and two flattened tires.

STATE

•Theft. Police said Justin Kenneth Gebhart of 1790 Lawrence Ave., Ellwood City, took money, cigarettes and a lighter from an Ellwood City woman at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. A theft by unlawful taking or disposition charge was filed against him at District Judge Jerry G. Cartwright’s office, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

•Accident. Police said Randy Montalvo, 18, of Pulaski was westbound on Plain Grove-North Liberty Road in Plain Grove Township at 5:40 p.m. Feb. 20 in a 1999 Ford Escort when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Plain Grove Road. Montalvo’s vehicle collided with a 2001 Dodge Neon operated by Sarah L. Getz, 27, of Volant, who was southbound on Plain Grove Road. Getz was taken to Grove City Hospital, where she was treated and released. Neither Montalvo nor a passenger in his vehicle, 18-year-old Jenna R. Hilliard of Volant, were injured.

•Accident. Franklin N. Colick, 62, Edinburg was northbound on Route 19 in Washington Township at 1:37 p.m. Friday when he stopped for a vehicle that was being pulled out of a ditch. His 1999 Toyota Tacoma, police said, was struck in the rear by a 2004 Chrysler Sebring operated by Danielle L. Shoaff, 26, of New Castle. No injuries were reported.

•Accident. Police said Carrie L. Kirkpatrick, 32, of New Castle was northbound on Route 551 in North Beaver Township at 2:25 p.m. Friday when her 2002 Ford Taurus struck a snow drift in the road. The vehicle spun and struck a ditch along the east shoulder of the road. Kirkpatrick and two passengers, an 8-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, sustained minor injuries, police said, and were transported by Medevac Ambulance to Jameson Hospital.

•Theft. Police said someone removed a snow plow belonging to Holy Redeemer Church, 300 Crescent Ave., Ellwood City, between 1 and 8:30 a.m. yesterday. The plow had been chained to a fence along Portersville Road.

•Harassment. Police said Benjamin Lawrence Krueger, 25, of New Castle was arguing with a 28-year-old New Castle woman over a cell phone at 10 a.m. yesterday in a Mount Jackson Road apartment and bit her hand to get her to release it. He was charged with summary harassment.

•Vehicle fire. Police said George A. Rozich III, 53, of Enon Valley was southbound on Leslie Road, Little Beaver Township, at 1 p.m. Friday when he noticed smoke coming from under the hood of his 1990 Ford Taurus. He pulled over onto the west shoulder, opened his hood, discovered fire and called 911. He was not injured.

•Accident. A woman whose name was not disclosed by police attempted to avoid cars that were stopping at 3:35 p.m. Friday on Route 422, Slippery Rock Township, because of snowy conditions, and her 2004 Saturn Vue struck a guard rail and became lodged on a steel wire from a utility pole. The woman was not injured but was cited for driving at an unsafe speed.

•Accident. Police said Samantha J. Gould, 23, of Volant was southbound on George Washington Road in Scott Township at 3 p.m. Friday when her 1996 Dodge Caravan lost its brakes. The vehicle struck a guardrail and a traffic sign. Neither Gould nor her two passengers — a 3-year-old boy and a 1-year-old boy — were injured.

•Accident. Police said Joshua A. Hines, 19, of Volant was eastbound on Frew Mill Road, Slippery Rock Township, at 6:55 p.m. Friday when his 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier slid into the path of a snowplow operated by Gary W. Mancini Sr., 54, of New Castle. Neither driver was injured. Hines’ car was removed from the scene by Bruno’s Towing.

•Accident. Police said Gregory P. Steffen, 48, of New Brighton was eastbound on Route 488, Perry Township, at 6:26 p.m. Friday when he lost control of his 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme on the snow-covered roadway. His vehicle spun into the westbound lane, where Michael A. Yeager, 45, of Enon Valley was plowing the road in a 1997 Mack Truck. Yeager slammed on his brakes, police said, and his truck slid into the eastbound lane, colliding with Steffen’s vehicle, a 2005 Ford Excursion operated by Vernon Y. Kerry, 74, of Sandpoint, Ind., and a guard rail. None of the drivers was injured. Steffen was cited for three traffic offenses.