A driver who fell asleep at the wheel and fatally struck a Dauphin County Parks and Recreation employee will not face criminal charges, the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office has announced.
Gary Frampton, a maintenance worker at Fort Hunter Park in Middle Paxton Township, Pennsylvania, was struck and killed on Friday (December 27), 2024, while cleaning up trash and debris along North Front Street. According to FOX43, Frampton went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene around 8:16 a.m. All lanes of North Front Street between Fort Hunter Road and Fishing Creek Road were closed following the crash and did not reopen until just before noon.
Prosecutors say the driver had been returning home from a hospital visit when he fell asleep behind the wheel. Hospital staff had warned the individual not to drive if he felt tired. However, the DA's Office determined that too much time had passed between that warning and the moment the driver chose to get behind the wheel, making it impossible to prove criminal recklessness beyond a reasonable doubt. Without meeting that legal threshold, no criminal charges could be filed.
PennLive reported that Dauphin County spokesman Vincent Paese described Frampton as "a dedicated, valued and deeply loved employee," adding that "the whole of Dauphin County offers their condolences to his family during this difficult time."
Frampton's sister, Jennifer Potase, has spoken publicly about her brother's impact on the Fort Hunter community. CBS 21 reported that more than 100 people connected to the park attended his memorial service. "There was one lady he would come and greet her dog every day and they would stand and chat," Potase said. "It just amazed me — people that you don't think exist, you find out touched your brother's life and vice versa."
Working at Fort Hunter ran deep in the Frampton family. Potase said their father was also a park employee who trained Gary to follow in his footsteps. "I think it's amazing because it's a heritage that my dad was able to pass on and my brother got to fulfill to the very end," she said.
A permanent memorial is now being built in Frampton's honor near Fishing Creek at Fort Hunter Park. The project includes a garden area, a patio, a bench, and a tree planted in his name. "That's life," Potase said of the tree. She also said she hopes to one day find witnesses to the crash to thank them for how they treated her brother at the scene.
Pennsylvania State Police have confirmed the investigation into the crash remains open.