Local leader killed by truck at West Chester grocery store

WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- Police say a longtime West Goshen Township Supervisor was killed by a pickup truck in a crash at a West Chester grocery store.

Action News has learned that the man killed was 77-year-old Dr. Robert White.

It was around 12:30 Wednesday afternoon when the driver of a silver pickup truck - a young woman in her early 20's - reversed right into the front of the ShopRite store on the 1100 block West Chester Pike.

As the truck went careening toward the front of the store, White was standing right in the path on the sidewalk out front.

The truck first hit him - sending him right through the front window of the supermarket - then the pickup came to a stop.

Police officers rushed to the scene and immediately knew the man who had been hit by the pickup.

White was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Those who knew him say, right before the accident, White had just left an informal meeting with other township officials.

"He said he was going over to ShopRite to do his shopping like he usually does, then I went up to my office and got the phone call and was just in shock," said Casey LaLonde, West Goshen Township Manager.

LaLonde says this community has lost something special.

"He was just elected to a fourth term here so it's just a devastating loss for this township. He was intricately involved with our operations, budgeting, personnel - so it's going to be an extreme loss for this township," said LaLonde.

In fact, White had worked as a public servant since 1980 when he was elected to the planning commission.

He was semi-retired from his dental practice which he shared with his son but his dedication to public office never tapered off.

White's neighbors described him as the kind of guy whose handshake was even better than a written contract.

"Whenever we had a question about the community and things that might be happening around us, we would always go to Bob," said Gwen Staus, neighbor.

"He's just a wonderful person. He kept us up to date on everything. I can't speak highly enough of him, just and absolutely a fantastic person," said Maury Caron, friend.

White leaves behind a wife and two grown sons.

As for the young woman behind the wheel of the pickup, she was questioned by police but authorities say it appears this was just a tragic accident.