HARVEYS LAKE — He was probably drunk.
That’s what the mother of a man interviewed in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash told police when they came to her door looking for him Sunday evening, according to an affidavit filed in connection with a search warrant application.
According to the affidavit, suspect Michael Scavone, 50, took the admission a step farther, telling police he was “lucky he had made it home.”
Borough police said Paula Jones, 32, of Factoryville had been jogging along Lakeside Drive near pole 210 at about 6 p.m. when she was struck by a vehicle that did not remain at the scene.
Jones was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Medical Center, where she later died of her injuries.
Police examining debris at the scene determined the vehicle which struck Jones was a Honda. A short time later, they located a 2006 Honda CRV at 9 Brook St., showing damage consistent with debris left at the crash scene, according to the affidavit. Police also observed blood on the white car.
Officers then met with the resident, Rosemary Scavone, 71, who court records show is the car’s owner. Police said she told them her son, Michael Scavone, had been driving the car and had just arrived home — and that he “was probably drunk” and in his room sleeping, according to the affidavit.
Police then spoke with Michael Scavone, from whom they detected the smell of alcohol. Officers said he admitted to drinking, and stated that he was “lucky he had made it home.”
Read his Miranda rights, Michael Scavone was interviewed at about 9:15 p.m. by a Luzerne County detective, admitting that he had been drinking at various bars from about 1 p.m. until he had “struck something” and travelled back to 9 Brook St., the affidavit states.
Police then sought a nighttime search warrant for the Honda, citing the possibility of rain to damage forensic evidence on the car. District Judge James Tupper granted the warrant at 11:10 p.m. The vehicle was impounded and taken to Falzone’s towing, police said.
Scavone was taken into custody and transported to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center for blood-alcohol screening.
He is cooperating with the investigation, borough police said.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross was scheduled to perform an autopsy on Jones’s body on Monday at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.
Check back for updates.
