Man arrested, charged for deadly hit-and-run in parking lot of Bucks County McDonald's

LEVITTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A New Jersey man has been arrested and charged after officials say he intentionally ran over a man in the parking lot of a Bucks County, Pennsylvania McDonald's.

Daniel Stephen Dietrich, 45, of Palmyra, is charged with criminal homicide, accidents involving death or personal injury and other crimes in the February 5 incident.

Evidence at the scene, surveillance footage, images of a dark truck, and a tip led to the arrest.

"The tipster led us directly to the defendant," said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub.

According to investigators, Dietrich and Jason Smith, 47, of Levittown, had been involved in an earlier road rage incident about a mile before they arrived at the McDonald's in the 7700 block of Bristol Pike in Levittown.

"Each in their own way chose to escalate this. Now Jason Smith is dead and Daniel Dietrich is charged with killing him," Weintraub said.

Once they arrived, surveillance video captured the two attempting to block each other in the parking lot before Smith got out of his car with a hammer.

Dietrich then hits Smith and runs over him, investigators said. He never slowed down and continued to drive out of the parking lot.

Weintraub says this whole situation could have easily been resolved with no loss of life.

"There were so many other options that the defendant could have taken and he exercised the only deadly one," he said.

Dietrich was arraigned Friday and was sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility where he is being held without bail.