Police: Driver Who Struck 16-Year-Old Was Funeral Director

Late Friday afternoon police confirmed that local funeral director and deputy county coroner John McGhee, 51, was the driver of the 2007 Chevrolet Impala that struck a 16-year-old girl on Monday, July 25, shortly before 10 p.m. on Maple Aveune.

However, police would not confirm that the hit-and-run accident is what lead McGhee to commit suicide in the garage of the funeral home he ran on Belmont Avenue last Wednesday morning.

Police and sources tell Patch, McGhee consumed one alcoholic drink at his Hogeland Road home on the evening of July 25 and at around 9:30 p.m. left to pick up some food from a local eatery, which police have not identified.

Police said he left the restaurant around 9:45 p.m. to head home, taking Maple Avenue toward Second Street Pike, and when he reached Stahl Road, he struck 16-year-old Lea Foehl. 

According to witness accounts, Foehl was standing in the middle of Maple Avenue when she was struck by McGhee’s Impala. including several broken ribs, a deep gash on her arm and other various injuries to her mouth and liver.

She was released from St. Mary’s Medical Center earlier this week and is recuperating at home, a hospital spokesperson said.

Through an and further investigation last Saturday, Upper Southampton Police determined that McGhee engaged his car’s braking system and swerved to try to avoid hitting Foehl, who stood under a street lamp. They also determined the Impala did not exceed the 30 MPH posted speed limit on the two lane road.

Police said through interviews they could not find evidence McGhee was intoxicated prior to the accident. They said the “female pedestrian was determined to be the cause of the accident due to her inattentiveness while standing in the middle of the street and then crossing in the lane of travel of the striking vehicle.”

A press release went on to say, “there were no other contributing factors to the accident.”

Police said shortly before being struck, Foehl and two of her her friends were walking along Maple, not far from her home. Foehl's boyfriend then pulled over on the opposite site of the road and she walked out to the double yellow line to speak with him. Authorities said they discovered the victim and her friends had been consuming alcohol previous to the accident.

“The operator of the striking vehicle failed to stop and render aid which is a misdemeanor of the first degree,” the release said. Instead, he returned to his residence in the Burgundy Hills section of the township, less than a mile from the accident scene.

Witnesses told police the striking vehicle was a late 2000s silver or tan Chevrolet, which had damage to it’s passenger side headlight. Using collected pieces of the broken headlight, which littered the site of the incident, police determined the car was a 2006-2012 Chevrolet Impala and

Sources tell Patch, in the day following the accident McGhee went to a local auto parts dealer to buy a replacement headlight. The dealer tipped police off and upon further investigation police discovered McGhee’s pewter 2007 Impala was the striking vehicle.

Various sources confirm that prior to being questioned by police last Wednesday, McGhee was found dead, hanging in the garage of his family’s funeral home, located on the corner of Belmont Avenue and Second Street Pike.

“All of the sudden I saw all these cops pull up to the funeral home and they ran to the garage," said a nearby business owner. "The FedEx lady told me they found McGhee dead.”  (The business owner did not want to be named due to his connection with the family.)

, held this week, was heavily attended with cars parking up the entire stretch of Belmont Avenue. The 1977 Archbishop Wood Graduate became a deputy county coroner in 1980 and helped run the family’s iconic funeral home.

Members of the community expressed feelings of shock after rumors that McGhee was the hit-and-run driver began to circulate late last week. As rumors began to swirl around town, authorities were busy examining the car in a garage at the township building, which includes police headquarters.

“He just seemed like a really nice guy. He was always shaking people’s hands and holding the door open,” a Southampton resident, who operates a business near the McGhee family funeral home, said.

“I was shocked to hear he hit the girl,” he added.

Many residents have been contacting Upper Southampton Patch since late last week wondering why police were taking so long to release information on the hit-and-run investigation. Many were dismayed they were hearing information through the rumor mill rather than though official means. 

“[The investigation] was being worked on until an hour before we put the release out." said Police Chief Ron MacPherson early Friday evening. "There was one last piece of the puzzle that had to be completed before we could release any information."

MacPherson said he could not say what the final piece of the puzzle was.

Maple Avenue has been the site of two other serious hit-and-run accidents in recent years.

On December 19, 2004, 13-year-old student James Bussinger was struck by a truck. He survived, but suffered serious brain damage.

In November of 2008, 15-year-old Chelsea Lynn Lancieri was struck and killed about a block and a half from where Foehl was struck.

Following those two incidents, the speed limit on Maple Avenue to 30 mph and a stop sign was placed at the intersection of Harding Road.

Friday afternoon a empty police department SUV was visible at the intersection in an attempt to slow drivers.

Police said, “safe driving awareness will continue to be promoted and addressed in the area of Maple Avenue and throughout Upper Southampton Township.”