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Man charged after deadly hit and run in Plains Township

Louis Weihbrecht is charged with criminal homicide after investigators say he hit a man with his car in Plains Township and drove off.

LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — A suspect in a fatal hit and run Friday night is now facing a charge of homicide and a charge of fleeing from arrest. Louis Weihbrecht was arraigned Monday afternoon. He's currently being held in county jail.

It was on North Main Street in Plains Township where Weihbrecht allegedly hit Mark Svadeba. Police said the two of them were in an argument when Weihbrecht decided to hit Svadeba with his pickup truck.

Weihbrecht then drove off, leaving Svadeba behind. Ambulances rushed Svadeba to the hospital, but he was later pronounced dead.

The entire incident was caught on camera and the footage is now in police custody.

"The video is very disturbing, this victim is struck with a vehicle intentionally and dragged across the parking lot and into the street, where at some point the defendant backs up again and runs him over a second time," Sam Sanguedolce, Luzerne County District Attorney.

D.A. Sanguedolce said the police may have a possible motive for the crime, "We do know that these two individuals have had a history of arguing mostly over a female; this seems to be mostly an extension of that argument,” said Sanguedolce.

A woman who lives across the street saw the aftermath of the scene. She said she’s still frightened that the crime happened nearly on her front doorstep, “Horrified, I'm scared. I'm scared; that's how I feel, sir. I feel scared and concerned for everybody."

The neighbor says she knew the victim and that he would often come by the auto shop to work on his motorcycle, "Good guy, smart, kind, he was trying to get away from bad things."

Weihbrecht's preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 30.

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