Police: Suspect charged in Bristol Borough hit and run fled the country

BRISTOL, Pa. (WTXF) - Police in Bucks County have charged a man in a deadly hit and run in Bristol Borough as the man remains at large after fleeing the country days after the crash.

Ali Hakan Cifter, 35, has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, homicide by vehicle, and aggravated assault by vehicle.

Police say Cifter was behind the wheel of his 2003 Mercedes Benz AMG when he struck and killed Kevin M. Williams Sr. on his bicycle near Corson Street in Bristol Borough and then fled the scene. Williams, 52, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe Cifter, a Levittown resident, was racing another car on Route 13 at the time of the incident.

After the crash, police say Cifter drove the damaged Mercedes home, hid it in the garage, and told his roommate he had struck a deer. Police say Cifter then removed a Florida license plate from the car, and it was later found in a refrigerator in his bedroom.

Cifter's roommate contacted police on December 23 to tell them the car had been in their garage.

Police say Cifter, a U.S. citizen originally from Turkey, fled the country on December 21, taking a flight from JFK International Airport to Serbia.

Two days after he left the country, police say Cifter called Bristol Borough police by phone and confessed to his involvement in the crash, and claimed the victim jumped out in front of him.

Cifter then told police he had left the scene because he was scared and that he had been racing another vehicle at speeds over 70 mph.

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office has said they will work with federal authorities to seek to have Cifter extradited to the United States for prosecution.