Police locate tractor-trailer driver in fatal crash ~ Official say Buena Vista resident stopped, but then left Rt. 54 scene 1/28/05

BUENA VISTA -- State police said they've identified and charged the driver of a tractor-trailer involved in a Route 54 accident that killed a St. Augustine Preparatory School senior.

The driver, 45-year-old Stephen F. Baker of Buena Vista, was issued a summons for leaving the scene of the Jan. 17 crash, authorities said. Police on Thursday also gave a revised account of Baker's actions the morning of the accident.

The student, 18-year-old Robert Wickham of Hammonton, was killed when his car crossed the highway's center line near Weymouth Road and collided head-on with an SUV. Minutes later, police said, a back wheel of Baker's truck hit the back of Wickham's car. A Vineland woman and three children in the SUV were injured, two of them seriously.

Police initially said the truck never stopped at the crash scene. But Trooper Jon Bentivegna said Thursday that Baker did stop at the scene.

"He was there for several minutes while the troopers were tending to the injured," Bentivegna said. "He left before the troopers were able to talk to him once the paramedics took over."

Bentivegna declined to say how investigators identified Baker or why he left the scene.

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Truck driver who left fatal crash site get summons 1/28/05

Police have located the truck driver who left the scene of a fatal accident 10 days ago and charged the Buena Vista Township man with leaving the scene of an accident.

Stephen F. Baker, 45, must appear at a future court date for the motor vehicle summons and could face as much as $1,000 in fines and 180 days in jail, according to State Police Trooper Jon P. Bentivegna, of the Troop A Criminal Investigations Office at the Buena Vista barracks.

On Jan. 17, Robert J. Wickham, 18, a Hammonton resident and student at St. Augustine Preparatory School in Buena, died from his injuries after the sedan he was driving collided with a sport utility vehicle on Route 54 in Buena Vista Township and then a tractor-trailer crashed into his sedan. The tractor-trailer driver drove off before police arrived, according to what eyewitnesses told police, Bentivegna said.

The trooper said the back wheel of Baker's 18-wheeler struck Wickham's car while the trucker was trying to bypass the scene, heading southbound on Route 54.

Bentivegna said police were not looking at Baker as potentially responsible for Wickham's fatal injuries. He also said there was no reason to believe that Wickham used alcohol or drugs before the accident.

Police found the local man because of eyewitnesses' descriptions of the white truck, Bentivegna said.

The trooper said authorities are still waiting for the medical examiner's office to determine what killed the 18-year-old.

Investigators said that for reasons that are not clear Wickham's vehicle drifted into Route 54's southbound lane while he was traveling north near Weymouth Road at just past midnight Jan. 17.

Also injured in the accident was Vineland resident Carmella Shaud, 40, the driver of the on-coming car that collided with Wickham. She was immediately taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City after the accident.

Passengers Henry Shaud, 14, Elizabeth Shaud, 12, and Michael Shaud, 15, were treated for their injuries at area hospitals.

Wickham was a senior attending St. Augustine Prep, where he was a goalkeeper for the school's varsity lacrosse team and a member of the ice hockey team.

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HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: Buena nears National crown ~ Key wins at 112, 135 push Chiefs past Prep, 43-18 1/27/05

Buena Regional's Bobby Contoni (left) has St. Augustine 112-pounder Brian Conley all knotted up during Wednesday night's dual. In just his third varsity match, Contoni pinned Conley in the second period, helping the Chiefs beat the Hermits.

RICHLAND -- Bobby Contoni kept Buena Regional's head above water in the light weights, Bobby Shea scored a momentum-shifting win at 135 pounds, and the Chiefs' middle and upper weights turned a close high school wrestling match into a runaway.

Buena moved one step closer to its third consecutive Cape-Atlantic League National Conference title Wednesday night with a 43-18 win over St. Augustine Prep at The Cave. A victory Saturday against Oakcrest would all butsecure the crown for the Chiefs (8-5).

But on Wednesday, a total team effort was on display. It started with Contoni, who in just his third varsity match pinned the Prep's Brian Conley in 3:55 at 112 pounds. With St. Augustine (5-2) taking three of the first five bouts, those six points were huge.

"I had to get the pin for the team," said Contoni, who rode Conley the first 1:40 of the second period before turning his hip and working Conley into a cradle for the pin. "I felt good going out there. He was strong, but I just kept pushing."

The Buena contingent erupted, knowing they got six unexpected points.

"Big, big points for us," Buena coach Doug Castellari said. "Him being a freshman who hasn't done much varsity wrestling, that's just a huge pin."

Four bouts later, Shea, bumping up from 130, fell behind Ricky Hyson, 3-0, before coming alive. Shea powered Hyson down and to his back for a 5-4 lead after two periods, then used a third-period takedown to secure an 8-5 decision.

"I've been friends with Ricky for years, and I knew it would be close, especially with me bumping up," Shea said. "I think me winning kind of broke their hearts."

The Prep got a decision from Kevin Kim at 140, but Buena's Anthony Badaracco (pin of John Marcucci), Dennis Ehret (major decision over Rich Stone) and Mark Eighmey (pin of Mike DeAngelo) turned a 12-12 match into a 28-12 Buena margin.

"Hyson's match really took the wind out of our sails," St. Augustine coach Keith Hoover said. "It forced us to take some chances in the middle weights, and Buena was a little too tough."

The Chiefs widened the final margin with a pin from Mike Wilcox at 189, a decision from DeJuan Corbitt at 215 and a forfeit at heavyweight.

"We thought we had them," said Prep sophomore Justin Rivera, a 4-0 winner over P.J. Dellagatta at 103. "We were right there."

But Contoni, Shea and the rest of the Chiefs refused to crack.

NOTE: St. Augustine donated the gate admission from Wednesday's match to the Ricky Wilcox Memorial Scholarship Fund. Wilcox, a former Buena wrestler, was killed in a one-car accident last June.

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Prep's Rodio earns 600th win in nailbiter 1/22/05

St. Augustine Prep coach Paul Rodio shouts instructions to his team during a timeout Friday against Middle Township.

RICHLAND -- The tie came off Friday night.

It didn't come off in last year's Cape-Atlantic League championship game. It didn't even come off in the Parochial A state championship game.

In fact, the last time St. Augustine Prep coach Paul Rodio lost his tie was last season's game at Cape-Atlantic League National Conference rival Middle Township.

Well, Middle at the Cave Friday, trying to prevent Rodio from winning his 600th career game in front of a packed house. And No. 600 wasn't going to come easy. The Panthers made sure of that.

St. Augustine won a wild one, 49-44, thanks to some clutch outside shooting from senior Shawn Barlow and sophomore Daniel Anderson, and some equally clutch free-throw shooting from sophomore Jon White and senior Anthony Farmer.

"It just means I've been coaching a lot of years," said Rodio, who became just the third coach in South Jersey history with 600 wins. "I think it's more important that we're 12-0 than I have 600. (Middle)'s a good team."

The win means St. Augustine is the last remaining undefeated team in Cape National play. The Hermits have an inside track at the Cape's overall title, too, which they have won each of the last four years.

The last time St. Augustine didn't appear in the title game was in 1998, when the Hermits were beaten by -- who else? -- Middle.

"Rivalries are when teams knock each other off," said Middle head coach Tom Feraco, who just earned career victory No. 500 on Tuesday. "But they've got our number."

It didn't seem that way for much of the game, however. Middle did a great job collapsing in the paint and forcing the Hermits to take lower-percentage outside shots. St. Augustine's aggressive man-to-man defense held Middle to just 20 first-half points.

Middle (9-2) took a 20-16 lead into the locker room, but St. Augustine was very much alive. It still controlled much of the first half and took a 20-16 lead into the locker room.

"It wasn't a big deal," said Farmer, who finished with a game-high 19 points, but shot just 4-of-17 from the field. "We were only down four. ... But they did a good job. We wanted to play this game in the 60s, not in the 40s."

Middle made just 15-of-41 field goals for the game. St. Augustine (12-0), however, was equally horrid from the floor, shooting just 13-of-43. The Hermits didn't take the lead for good until Anderson wheeled around from about 15 feet and nailed a risky shot with 1:21 to go in the game. Rodio admitted it wasn't the shot he was looking for. But, the coach added, it went in.

"I was just trying to win," said Anderson, a sophomore who finished with six points. "I knew we needed a basket."

White and Farmer added 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal it.

"We get to play them again," said Middle center David Smith, who was held to just three field goals and six points. "We're not going to forget about this one easily."

Neither will Rodio. Because for the first time in almost a year, his tie came off. That should tell you something about how intense this rivalry -- if that's what you want to call it -- really is.

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Video image doesn't help solve hit, run crash 1/21/05

Who to call

Anyone with information about the truck involved in Monday's hit-and-run is asked to call state police at the Buena Vista barracks at 609-561-1800.

BUENA VISTA -- Investigators have been unable to locate the truck that left the scene of a fatal accident Monday, even though its image was captured by a camera in a state police cruiser about a minute before the accident occurred.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Trooper Donald Bourbon said Thursday. "We have very sketchy images. You can't tell the name on the side or anything about the truck. Had it been daylight, we probably would have more."

Bourbon said a unit from the Buena Vista station had stopped a car on Route 54 early Monday morning and was facing north when the southbound truck went by.

A head-on collision occurred a minute or two later about 1.5 miles south of the vehicle stop. Robert Wickham, 18, a St. Augustine Preparatory School student from Hammonton, was killed when his northbound car crossed the centerline and collided head-on with an SUV driven by Carmella Shaud, 40, of Vineland.

"If both vehicles were traveling at 55 miles an hour you have an impact of 110 miles an hour," Bourbon said.

Shaud and a passenger, 14-year-old Henry Shaud, remain hospitalized. Their conditions have been upgraded to critical but stable, Bourbon said. Everyone involved in the accident was wearing seatbelts, he said.

After the impact, Wickham's car came to rest in the southbound lane. A rear wheel of the rig's trailer apparently hit the back of Wickham's car as the driver swerved his truck, police said.

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Press Photo of they Day 1/20/05

Who to call

State police want to talk with anyone who was in the Route 54 area at the time of the accident and might have seen the truck. To help, call the Buena Vista barracks at (609) 561-1800.

BUENA VISTA -- A high school student was killed early Monday morning when his small car collided head-on with an SUV and was then run over by a tractor-trailer on Route 54.

The truck driver didn't stop after the crash, and state police were searching for the hit-and-run vehicle.

The victim, 18-year-old Robert Wickham of Hammonton, died at the scene of the crash, which occurred about 12:15 a.m. north of the Weymouth Road intersection. Wickham was a senior and at St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland, where he was the varsity lacrosse team's starting goalie.

"Robert was a kind and generous young man. He was never without a smile," said the school's president, the Rev. Paul Galetto, in a prepared statement.

"We will miss Robert greatly," Galetto said. "Our hearts go out to his mom and dad and all those who loved him."

State police said Wickham was driving a Ford Focus north on Route 54 when it crossed the center line for an unknown reason. It then collided head-on with a southbound Ford Explorer driven by Carmella Shaud, 40, of Vineland, police said.

Wickham's car spun around and came to rest in the southbound lane, facing south.

Then the rear wheels of a southbound tractor-trailer truck apparently ran over the Ford Focus on the driver's side, Sgt. James Brady said.

Shaud was in critical condition at Atlantic City Medical Center. Three children in the SUV also were injured. Henry Shaud, 14, was in critical condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden; Elizabeth Shaud, 12, and Michael Shaud, 15, were treated for minor injuries, Brady said.

Police knew of no other witnesses to the accident and did not have a description of the truck.

"We have nothing on the truck or the driver," Brady said.

Alcohol was not a factor in the accident, he said.

Tony Iaconelli, the athletic director at St. Augustine, said Wickham was a popular student.

"This is a difficult day for all of us," Iaconelli said. "He was very well liked and a real extrovert."

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