Lawyer for woman charged in fatal Ross Township hit-and-run says client had ‘no idea’ she hit anyone

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The attorney for the woman charged in a fatal hit-and-run that took the life of a woman in Ross Township said his client had no idea she hit a person before she left the scene of the crash.

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Steve Townsend represents 39-year-old Erin Petroski, who is charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence after police said she hit and killed 31-year-old Elizabeth Griser on Babcock Boulevard on Jan. 13.

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“She’s very very upset that this happened. It truly was an accident,” Townsend said.

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According to the criminal complaint, the fatal accident happened near the Sheetz on Babcock Boulevard. Authorities say traffic cameras showed a car with front passenger side damage and a missing headlight .19 miles south from where Elizabeth Griser was found.

Townsend said his client didn’t know she’d hit anyone. 

“There was no indication that she had hit a person, you look at the damage to the vehicle, certainly she knew that she hit something and she recognized that and even told the officers when they came to her house that she had hit something, but had no idea that she had hit a person,” said Townsend.

Griser was seen in surveillance video prior to the crash, getting off a bus before walking along Babcock Boulevard where she’s illuminated by headlights and hit.

“The pathway there between that bus stop and Sheetz is not lit,” Townsend explained. “There are no sidewalks and there’s very little room on either side of that road.”

“I am very grateful for the hard work that Ross Township Police did on the investigation. I miss my daughter Elizabeth very much,” said Griser’s mother, Sally Griser, regarding the arrest. “It still hurts. I will never recover from this. Justice is now being served for my daughter.”

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