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Man to serve 6-15 years in prison for hit-and-run death of 4-year-old Dakota Wright

YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A York man will serve six to 15 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of four-year-old Dakota Wright. Tony Shower Jr., 35, was sent...
Tony Shower Jr._graphic

YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A York man will serve six to 15 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of four-year-old Dakota Wright.

Tony Shower Jr., 35, was sentenced Friday, a little over a month after he was found guilty of accident resulting in death or injury and driving under the influence.

Shower was driving a white utility van in the 200 block of Princess Street in Hanover on November 22, 2016 when he struck Wright, who was crossing the street to get to her house, police said at the time.

The van fled after the accident and was stopped twice by police, the second time being when authorities found what appeared to be several strands of hair in the front grill and headlight area.

Police secured the vehicle to preserve evidence and got a search warrant, which resulted in authorities observing damage and strands of hair about where Wright would have been struck by the van.

Shower wasn’t driving when the vehicle was stopped by police and he denied being behind the wheel when the hit-and-run occurred. But a recorded York County Prison call from a man who was in the van with Shower revealed that they had been driving around all day using drugs and Shower dropped the man off at a local restaurant prior to the accident.

Police said Shower picked up the other man after the hit-and-run and told him to drive, which was when authorities pulled them over.

A witness was also re-interviewed, who said he heard the accident and saw the van drive away from the scene with a lone driver who was white and had dark facial hair. The witness was shown to photo lineups, one containing Shower and the other with the second man, and he identified Shower as the driver.

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