Bob Bolus wants to clear the air.
Yes, it was one of his Bolus Truck Parts and Towing employees that hit the Moosic Street bridge with an excavator Nov. 2, but it was no hit-and-run, his attorney, Tony Moses said.
"It was not a hit and run. There was full cooperation with police, with any applicable insurance companies," Mr. Moses, a lawyer from Kingston, said.
Mr. Bolus' attorney said the employee, whom he declined to identify by name, struck the bridge with an excavator sometime Friday morning, but said the driver was unaware that any damage was caused to the bridge.
Within hours, the Scranton police and insurance companies were notified, Mr. Moses said.
The bridge was closed after it was damaged because all eight beams supporting the bridge had been severely damaged. The bridge connects Moosic and Spruce streets and serves as a primary artery into downtown Scranton. It is estimated to cost $1 million to replace the bridge and work on it cannot start until early 2013 at the earliest.
Mr. Bolus said he was upset authorities from the Lackawanna County district attorney's office impounded a vehicle from his Drinker Street property later that day without his permission.
"They went and spent thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money to remove this machine with practically no purpose," Mr. Bolus said.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Klein declined to comment on the topic because the investigation is ongoing. He would not confirm or deny a vehicle was impounded from the business property on Drinker Street.
Acting Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano also declined to comment and deferred questions to Mr. Klein, who is leading the investigation into the incident.
Mr. Bolus said he's been in contact with state Department of Transportation bridge engineers about the state of the bridge and has contacted a private engineer about possibilities to keep the bridge open, so as to not inconvenience Scranton drivers.
"My client is very concerned about the citizens of Scranton. He doesn't want to cause any inconvenience," Mr. Moses said.
Contact the writer: ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT