'His life is forever changed’: Man still recovering from severe brain injury months after hit-and-run

SOUTHWEST GREENSBURG, Pa. — A young man may never completely recover after a hit-and-run crash turned his world upside down.

More than nine months after the incident, no charges have been filed against the driver who allegedly struck Nathan Bober.

The victim’s family talked exclusively with Channel 11, demanding answers and justice.

“His life is forever changed. It was forever changed that day,” said Chris Coconcelli, Bober’s aunt.

On Dec. 3, 2019, Bober, 32, was hit by a truck and left seriously hurt along the side of the road.

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“I remember getting a call from my sister and going to the hospital and really leaving the hospital that night not thinking he was going to make it,” Coconcelli said.

Bober’s aunt met Channel 11 on Thursday where the accident happened, at the intersection of Westminster Avenue and Sydney Street in Southwest Greensburg. She said Bober suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“It’s been a long process,” she said. “It was 82 days he was in the hospital. Two of those weeks were in a coma.”

She said Bober had to learn how to walk and talk again.

He goes to rehab three times a week, suffers from memory loss and cannot drive, losing his independence.

Coconcelli said he has come a long way but still has a long way to go.

“It’s frustrating because this is life-changing for Nathan and we just need some justice for him,” she said.

Police said Bober possibly lay on the road for up to 20 minutes before anyone called 911. The driver who hit him left the scene.

“To know the driver didn’t at least make that phone call and just left knowing they hit somebody,” Coconcelli said. “It’s terrible. I don’t know (how) a person can do that.”

Channel 11 was there in December when an accident reconstruction team was on the scene. The family’s attorney, Ken Nolan, said police identified the driver just two days after the accident, but no criminal charges have been filed.

“Nine-and-a-half months later, we don’t know what’s going on. There’ve been no charges that have been filed and we are not sure why,” Coconcelli said.

The Southwest Greensburg Police Department said that until charges are filed, the department cannot release a report or any information about the driver. The police chief said they are waiting for the district attorney’s office.

Coconcelli said no one from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office has contacted the family since the accident to discuss what is happening in her nephew’s case.

“He just wants it to be over, and this still hanging over him,” Coconcelli said.

Channel 11 contacted the DA’s office several times, but received no response.

Man remains hospitalized after hit by truck, left on side of road Man remains hospitalized after hit by truck, left on side of road

Cox Media Group