Store security tape, red paint lead troopers to charge woman in Salem hit-and-run
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Surveillance tapes from a convenience store and red paint on a car grille helped state police identify a woman they say was involved in a hit-and-run accident last month, according to court documents.
Tamara J. Stoken, 46, of Irwin, was charged this week with careless driving, fleeing the scene of an accident, failing to stop and render aid, failing to stop at a red signal, failing to notify police of an accident, reckless driving and driving an unregistered vehicle in connection with the June 8 crash in Salem at the intersection of routes 22 and 119.
Witnesses allege Stoken was driving a 2005 Suzuki Forenza along Route 119 that failed to stop at a red traffic signal and struck a westbound 2021 Honda Odyssey occupied by a 72-year-old couple from Beaver County, Trooper Joshua Abernathy said in court documents.
The male driver told troopers he was traveling on Route 22 at about 45 mph and had a green light when his side airbags suddenly deployed, causing him to become disoriented after the crash. State police reported the vehicle was extensively damaged on the driver’s side.
Another witness told troopers the female driver of a red Suzuki Forenza was “driving all over the roadway” along Route 119 before she failed to stop at the traffic signal and struck the Odyssey. The witness said the woman stopped for a brief period but drove behind a nearby Speedway convenience store-gas station on Route 22.
Abernathy said troopers obtained video from the store and it showed the car pulling behind the store, then “running another red light” to re-enter Route 22 eastbound and flee the scene “before troopers arrived.”
Troopers collected broken pieces of the car’s grille scattered along the highway. The red metallic paint was exclusive to a 2004-2005 Forenza.
“A 25-mile search of this year, paint color, make and model yielded one match … identifying Tamara J. Stoken as the vehicle owner,” Abernathy wrote.
On June 19, Abernathy interviewed Stoken, who admitted her involvement, he said. She told him she consumed two pints of vodka during an argument with her husband earlier in the day. She said she fled because she was “intoxicated and had a prior DUI.”
Stoken said she abandoned her damaged car in Ligonier and later had it towed to a Manor auto shop for repairs, Abernathy wrote in court papers. He matched the broken grille with the vehicle at the repair shop.
The complaint was served via mailed summons.
Stoken did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.