Bristol Twp. police searching for hit-and-run driver who killed man on Christmas Eve

John Dugan was attempting to cross State Road near Fourth Avenue when he was killed.

ByBryanna Gallagher WPVI logo
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Hit-and-run driver wanted for killing man on Christmas Eve
"They took me back and I saw my dad laying on the bed completely lifeless. That sums up my Christmas Eve," recalled John Dugan's daughter.

CROYDON, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Police in Bucks County, Pennsylvania are trying to track down a hit-and-run driver who's responsible for a Christmas Eve tragedy in Croydon.

The holiday will forever be scarred for John Dugan's family.

The tragedy occurred shortly after 5 p.m. on December 24, with Christmas Eve dinner still in the oven.

Police say Dugan, 65, was attempting to cross State Road near Fourth Avenue with his fiancee, Christiana Mazzatenta, to share holiday greetings with their neighbors.

Bristol Township police say Dugan fell in the road and that's when he was hit.

Dugan's daughter, Jamie Santos, says she still can't process that someone left her dad lying in the road.

"They took me back and I saw my dad lying on the bed completely lifeless. That sums up my Christmas Eve," said Santos.

Police have identified the car seen in the surveillance footage as a cherry red Chevy Silverado pickup with black rims.

Mazzatenta says she can't look out her bedroom window because it just reminds her of what happened on Christmas Eve.

Both the family and police are asking for the public's help to find out who did this.

Santos says her dad was her best friend, and he was a proud grandfather.

"Every day I hear my son say that he misses his grandpop. He's 5 years old. And every day I got to live with the fact that my dad is no longer here," Santos said.

She continued, "My dad, where do we start... the title grandfather, he definitely didn't miss a beat when it came to his grandkids, and he didn't when it came to us. He was my best friend and I am going to forever be lost."

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Officer Kenneth Margerum at (267) 812-2991.