SCRANTON -- Scranton police made an arrest in the case of a hit and run that left a city DPW worker with critical injuries over the weekend.
Police said Maxwell Materazzi-Hatala, 24, of Old Forge was behind the wheel when he hit that worker. Investigators said Materazzi-Hatala then staged a second accident on Sunday to cover up the crime.
Earlier Monday, officers found a car in a secluded neighborhood in Old Forge. It has the front end damage they had been searching for since Saturday morning.
Scranton Department of Public Works employees were working an amended schedule because of the Thanksgiving holiday, collecting garbage in the city's west side early Saturday morning.
The driver of the garbage truck saw the headlights coming up from behind and yelled for two workers in the back of the truck to look out.
But the car pinned Steve Pierson against the truck, smashing his legs and putting him in critical condition.
Mayor Bill Courtright then got a call he dreads. He headed to the hospital to see an employee for the second time this year.
"When I went to the hospital, and we were in the ICU unit, sitting in the same room where I sat for Officer Wilding, so, it was difficult," said the mayor.
According to Scranton police, the car was going toward downtown Scranton when it collided with the garbage truck. The driver then backed up and turned around in Gerrity's parking lot across the street.
DPW workers thought the driver was stopping to help but instead, the car took off in the direction it came.
The last two tragedies that hit the Scranton DPW were worker deaths and both incidents were during garbage collection.
In 2003, Gerald Malone was killed when he was hit by a city recycling truck.
In 1998, Mark Krolak was hit by an alleged drunk driver while collecting garbage in the city's north end.
They are among several names memorialized at Scranton's DPW headquarters.
"Some people are impatient. They want to get to work and they want to get around the garbage truck, look out for the individual. We seem to have more accidents with DPW workers than any of our employees," said Mayor Courtright.
Mayor Courtright says Steve Pierson has worked for the city's DPW for close to a decade and has a good reputation with the department.
Materazzi-Hatala faces charges related to the hit and run as well as filing a false police report and insurance claim.
