A Lancaster County man has been convicted by a Berks County jury for a hit-and-run crash in 2023 that left a 23-year-old bicyclist dead.
Moshe K. Notis, 29, of Lancaster Township was convicted of accidents involving death or personal injury and related summary offenses following a trial last week in front of Judge James Lillis.
Notis remains free on $100,000 bail pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.
Notis was behind the wheel of a minivan that struck and killed Anson Burkholder of Maidencreek Township as Burkholder rode his bike along Route 222 on Sept. 20, 2023. Notis fled following the crash.
According to officials:
Northern Berks police were dispatched to Route 222 northbound near Richmaiden and Pleasant Hill roads about 8:15 p.m. for a report of a man struck by a vehicle.
Burkholder’s brother had found Burkholder’s body, as well as his bicycle in pieces, off the shoulder of the road on the edge of a cornfield.
The brother told police that he had gone out to look for Burkholder after he had failed to return home for dinner. He said his brother had left on his bicycle about two hours earlier to feed and tend to the animals on his family’s farm in the 1300 block of Pleasant Hill Road.
Broken pieces of a black vehicle — including parts of a front bumper, tire and fender — were found near Burkholder’s body.
Shortly after the crash, a witness who had learned about the fatal hit-and-run contacted police to tell them that Notis’ black minivan had heavy front damage. When the witness questioned Notis about the damage, he said the vehicle had hit a pole. When questioned further, Notis said he had struck a deer on 222.
Police in Lancaster County went to Notis’ home and saw there was fresh damage to his minivan.
Officers also found evidence that someone had tried to repair the damage.
After obtaining a search warrant, police searched the minivan. They discovered imbedded in the minivan’s grille human hair and a piece of a suspender clip that is a twin of the victim’s suspender clip recovered at the crash scene.
Notis was arrested and charged in October 2023.
Source: Berkshire mont