Pippy Staffers Mentioned in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's
Random Acts of Kindness Column 8/21/2007

Why hit-and-run drivers don't get far in Mt. Lebanon
 

I knew I put enough quarters in the parking meter in Uptown, Mt. Lebanon, to cover my time at a doctor's office there on Friday, Aug. 3.

So I couldn't figure out why two guys on the sidewalk were so anxious to get my attention when my daughter and I returned to my car that hot, steamy morning. "A guy in a huge sports utility vehicle hit your car and took off," one of them said. "We got the license plate and already called the police."

Random passers-by just doing their civic duty? Not exactly. As we waited for the police, Will Thomeier and Joe Leinbach explained they work for state Sen. John Pippy whose Mt. Lebanon district office is at 650 Washington Rd. where my 12-year-old station wagon was parked. Nancy Polcawich, administrative assistant in their office, was working at her desk near windows that face the street when she saw the offending vehicle ram into the hood of my much-smaller car as its driver tried to parallel park in the space in front of mine. Nancy yelled for Will and Joe who dashed out to the scene. They saw the driver take off but not before one of them jotted down his plate number.

As I checked out the sizable dents to my car, the senator's staffers gave me their account of the incident and Russell Marks, who owns the jewelry store next to Sen. Pippy's office, emerged from his shop to say he also saw a large vehicle hit my car and leave the scene. He theorized the driver had an appointment in the neighborhood and would park somewhere close by.

Russell, who I've known since our kindergarten days at the old Bower Hill School, was spot on. The first Mt. Lebanon police officer who arrived took the license number and went in search of the vehicle, which by then was parked less than two blocks up the street. A second officer arrived to take our reports. While we waited in temperatures approaching 90 degrees for all this to be sorted out -- Will and Joe seemingly oblivious of the sweltering heat in their long-sleeve dress shirts -- Nancy graciously invited my daughter to pass the time sipping cold water in her air-conditioned office. Russell and I caught up on how our respective children are faring. Hit-run accidents don't get more pleasant than that.

Eventually, the police located the driver and cited him for leaving the scene. Our insurance companies are settling the damages.

Thanks to the rapid responses of all the witnesses, I felt less like a stranded victim than a part of a community whose fellow members stepped up and got involved.

-- Joyce Gannon, Post-Gazette staff writer