Friends, Family Remember Father Of 3 Killed In Hit-And-Run Crash

EAST HUNTINGDON (KDKA) -- Joseph Cummins, 49, of Mt. Pleasant loved spending time with his three children and his wife.

He worked as the Director of Human Resources with Seven Springs for 15 years up until May of this year when he left for a job at Sysco, according to his LinkedIn page.

The director of marketing and communications at Seven Springs described Cummins as a strong leader and a good friend.

Cummins life was cut short on Christmas Eve around 2:30 in the afternoon when he was hit by a car while jogging with his dog on Ruffsdale Alverton Road in East Huntingdon.

"Mr. Cummins was a great guy. It's a great family. He's always been very polite to us and it's just a sad thing to see something like this happen," neighbor Russell Sleasman said.

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Russell Sleasman said he saw Cummins shortly before the accident happened.

He says Cummins always exercised with his dog to keep in shape.

"It's a terrible thing to happen to a family right before the holiday. I'm sure their Christmas is never going to be the same. It's always going to be a bad memory," Sleasman said.

State police say Matthew Ramsay, 29, of New Stanton, struck Cummins as he drove by in his car then fled the scene.

Cummins was taken to Frick Hospital then flown to UPMC Presbyterian where he died from his injuries.

Within 24 hours, detectives arrested Ramsay.

Ramsay is in the Westmoreland County Prison facing multiple charges including homicide by vehicle and homicide by vehicle while under the influence. According to court records, Ramsay admitted to troopers that he was on methadone during the incident.

Court records also say Ramsay told troopers after the crash, he drove to his father's house, covered his car with a tarp and then smoked marijuana.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 4 at 10 a.m.