Trial ordered in hit-and-run that injured Temple student

A Lancaster County man has been ordered to stand trial in the early-morning April 11 hit-and-run that critically injured a Temple University law student walking home in Center City.

Municipal Court Judge Jimmie Moore ruled Tuesday that Nicholas Hasselback should be tried on the more serious first-degree felony aggravated assault after Hasselback's passenger and friend said he thrice warned him about his speed and then his failure to stop after hitting Tony Foltz.

Assistant District Attorney Lynne O'Brien said Hasselback, 22, of Ephrata, will be formally arraigned on the assault and related charges on June 29.

Hasselback remains free after friends posted 10 percent of his $500,000 bail, but he may not leave Lancaster County without court approval and is prohibited from driving.

Foltz, 25, a third-year law student, was walking north on 22d Street about 2 a.m. April 11 when he was hit by a white Subaru heading west on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The Subaru's driver did not stop, but police, led by an anonymous tip, found the Subaru with a shattered windshield outside Hasselback's East Falls apartment. At the time, Hasselback was a Temple senior majoring in anthropology and economics. He has since withdrawn from the university.

O'Brien said the only witness she presented at the preliminary hearing was Hasselback's friend Michael Graber Jr., who lived nearby in East Falls.

Graber testified that he and Hasselback were in a restaurant and bar the night of April 10 and Hasselback agreed to give him a lift back to East Falls.

Graber, according to O'Brien, said he warned Hasselback about driving too fast - he said Hasselback was going 50 to 60 m.p.h. westbound on the Parkway - and about a group of pedestrians crossing the Parkway at 22d Street.

Hasselback did not slow down, Graber testified, and did not stop after hitting Foltz. Graber said he demanded to be dropped off immediately. Hasselback let him out and drove away.

Graber testified that he walked back to the accident scene in time to see Foltz being loaded into an ambulance.

Foltz was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he underwent several surgeries to repair severe head injuries.

"We're optimistic right now," said O'Brien, who added that Foltz is at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Center City. O'Brien said Foltz is able to talk and walk with assistance and needs another surgery to complete repairs to his skull.