Sep 30, 2025 By Mike Jones 2 min read

The woman accused of striking a retired professor with her car in Canton Township and driving off earlier this month waived all charges to court before her preliminary hearing Monday morning.

Gina Marie Dalessandro will now face trial on felony charges of accident involving injury and aggravated assault by vehicle in connection with the Sept. 15 crash in which she allegedly struck 70-year-old Robert Pebley as he was walking in the 600 block of Grove Avenue.

Two days after the incident, Greene-Washington Regional police tracked down Dalessandro’s damaged vehicle parked outside her Ewing Street home with the help of Canton Township officials, who shared with them surveillance video of the crash from their public works garage. The vehicle was found with a severely damaged bumper and windshield, which was covered up with a tarp, police said.

Dalessandro allegedly told police she was tired after coming off a three-day drug binge and thought she had hit a deer despite the incident happening in broad daylight shortly before noon, according to court documents. Investigators previously said surveillance video from the township’s public works garage showed a vehicle striking Pebley while he was carrying groceries, tossing the items in the air and carrying him briefly on top of the car before he was thrown to the ground.

Someone who witnessed the incident contacted authorities and medics were able to tend to Pebley, who suffered two broken ankles, two broken legs, a broken back and facial injuries. He was taken to a Pittsburgh area hospital, where he is still being treated for his injuries.

Dalessandro, 41, of Washington, was arrested and charged by Greene-Washington Regional police two days after the incident. In addition to the two felony counts, she also waived one misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment and several summary offenses while appearing Monday morning before District Judge John Bruner. She is being held at the Washington County jail on $50,000 cash bond.