West Penn Township father of three and business owner Mark T. Boyle died Wednesday after being deliberately run over by a dump truck driven by a disgruntled customer, who refused to pay his $7,500 bill, police say.

Boyle, 35, owned Mark T. Boyle Welding and Industrial Sandblasting at 725 Penn Drive, West Penn Township.

A graduate of Tamaqua Area High School, Boyle founded his company in 2007. He and his wife, Elizabeth, worked hand-in-hand to build their business.

West Penn Township police Chief James E. Bonner arrested the truck driver, Michael Albert, 60, of Scranton. He was arraigned at 2:40 a.m. Thursday before on-call District Judge Edward Tarantelli in Frackville, and jailed without bail in Schuylkill County Prison.

Albert is charged with third degree murder, aggravated assault, homicide by vehicle, theft of services, and recklessly endangering another person.

Hours later, at 3:40 a.m. Thursday, a home at 436 Brook St., Scranton, owned by Michael Albert, was damaged by fire.

Few details were available as of late Thursday.

“I can only confirm that we had a fire at approximately 3:40 a.m. in a house owned by Michael Albert. The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time,” said Scranton Fire Chief/Emergency Management Coordinator John J. Judge IV.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by West Penn Township Police Chief James E. Bonner, here’s how the tragedy unfolded:

Bonner was dispatched to 725 Penn Dr. (Route 443) on a report of a pedestrian struck by a dump truck. Bonner saw a large dump truck in the driveway near the entrance that leads onto Route 443.

Albert was in the driver’s seat.

Boyle was lying on the ground 145 feet away from where the truck was stopped. Boyle was semi conscious and being attended to by emergency medical technician and firefighter Connor Evans.

Evans told Bonner that he saw a tri-axle dump truck trying to leave the parking lot very fast, and saw the back end of the driver side of the dump truck, raise up then lower down. He said he had to stop his vehicle because if he hadn’t, he would have hit the dump truck.

Evans said he then saw Boyle lying on the ground, with his distraught wife standing next to him crying and screaming into her phone.

Evans said the driver of the dump truck and a woman later determined to be Albert’s daughter were disruptive and argumentative while he was trying to tend to the dying man.

Witnesses

Bonner spoke with the woman, Jordan Albert-Hall.

She said that she had driven her father to Boyle’s business get his truck. She then left him there and went to Walmart, which is just down the road, when her father called her.

“The guy will not let me take the truck without paying for it,” he told her.

She returned to the shop to pick her father up, and she saw him driving up the driveway. She said they went down to where Boyle was lying on the ground, and Albert said he was told to move the truck back so that emergency personnel could get in.

Bonner tried to speak with Boyle, but he could only say “the guy hit me with his truck,” and “please don’t let me die.”

Bonner said Boyle drifted in and out of consciousness.

Bonner interviewed Elizabeth Boyle, who told him Albert was a customer, and that he had come to pick up his truck but was told that he couldn’t have it until the payment was made. She said Albert went to his truck after leaving the office and started it.

She said he began to drive away and smiled at them.

She told Bonner her husband walked to the driveway and was telling Albert to stop. But instead of stopping, Albert swerved the truck right into Boyle and ran him over.

Elizabeth Boyle said Albert continued to drive away after hitting her husband.

She said that earlier, Albert had told her husband that he was leaving with his truck whether her husband was dead or alive.

Then after hitting Boyle, Albert said “I told you not to try and stop me. I told you I was going to run him over.”

Then he laughed at her.

Albert was driving a 2001 black Peterbilt tri-axle dump truck weighing 81,740 pounds; each rear axle had a gross vehicle weight rating of 23,000 pounds.

The truck had “MAD TRUCKING“ written in green letters on the doors.

Bonner also interviewed Shawn Nihen, who was on the phone with Boyle when he was run over.

Nihen said Boyle was telling him that a customer refused to pay for his truck and was trying to leave.

Nihen said that he heard the phone drop on the ground and heard Boyle moaning in pain, and Elizabeth Boyle yelling, “Oh my God! You just ran over my husband!”

Police interview

Bonner interviewed Albert after reading him his Miranda rights; Albert willingly signed the Miranda rights form, and agreed to be interviewed without a lawyer present.

Albert said he had contacted with Boyle in April to work on his tri-axle dump truck. He said that he agreed to a price of $15,000, with $7,500 down and $7,500 upon completion of the work.

Albert said that Boyle was to finish the work long ago but that it wasn’t done until Tuesday.

He said Boyle called him and told him his truck was done, so he came down from Scranton to pick it up.

Albert confronted Boyle about the payment, and requested money off. He told Bonner that Boyle told him he could not take the truck until payment was made.

Albert admitted that he was sitting in his truck and decided he was just going to leave without paying the bill, and that Boyle would just have to sue him.

Albert said that he saw Boyle running toward the truck to stop him, but he continued to drive. He then said that he felt a bump and stopped immediately.

Bonner measured the distance from where Boyle was lying on the ground to where the truck was stopped, and it was 145 feet away after hitting Boyle.

Albert said that when he walked back to where Boyle was lying on the ground, he was told to move his truck back so emergency personnel could get in.

Boyle was treated on the scene by Penn Mahoning Ambulance, Lehighton ALS, and the flight crew from medevac.

He went into cardiac arrest, and was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Carbon campus. There, he was revived, but again went into cardiac arrest and was revived again.

He was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, Allentown via medevac.

Once there he again went into cardiac arrest, but was unable to be resuscitated.

He was pronounced dead at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Remembering Mark

Walker Township board of supervisors took a moment Thursday night to express sadness over Boyle’s death. Boyle’s company had done some work for Walker Township in the past.

“We’re all sad today,” Secretary Ann Ostergaard said.

“He was somebody we were proud of. He was very hard working, very enterprising. We were in awe of him.”

A preliminary hearing for Albert is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 15 before District Judge Andrew J. Serina, Orwigsburg.