LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — No charges will be filed in the death of an Ephrata man found on a roadway in the borough on Christmas Day, according to the Ephrata Police Department.
Paul Donnelly, 39, was found dead near the intersection of West Main Street and Main Avenue, police said.
Initial reports stated that a witness, who stopped to help Donnelly when she saw him laying in the roadway, said that he had not been there before a truck passed through the intersection in front of her.
Police contacted the driver of the tractor-trailer, who said he did not see anyone or notice hitting anything. A close examination of his vehicle corroborated his story, showing no evidence of a collision.
Additional footage of the incident was found on Jan. 3.
According to the Ephrata Police Department, the surveillance footage showed Donnelly climb onto a tractor-trailer truck and lay down on the chassis between the cab and trailer. The truck was stopped at an intersection at 12:25 p.m. when Donnelly entered.
He then climbed under the chassis and held onto the underside, upside down, as the truck pulled away and out of the camera's view.
It took 55 seconds for the truck to drive from its starting point to the intersection of W. Main Street and Martin Avenue, where Donnelly's body was found.
According to police, the footage confirms that Donnelly was on the truck when it drove on W. Main Street and fell off, causing his fatal injuries.
As a result, no charges will be filed.
