Police said Matthew Cooper, 24, was driving the 2005 Ford 500 that hit McManus. Cooper was coming from a party on Taylor Drive.
The next morning, a neighbor at the Laurel Manor apartment complex on Providence Road spotted an unknown vehicle in the parking lot with extensive damage to the windshield and bumper, then called police. Officers later traced the car to Cooper.
Cooper told police "he didn't know what he hit," said Cpl. Christopher Eiserman of the Folcroft police. "He stated he knew he hit something, but he didn't know what it was."
Cooper has been charged with accidents involving death and personal injury, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to render aid.
McManus was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a collapsed lung and facial injuries. Though he was in critical condition, "doctors said he was responding well," Petrucci said.
"He's a big guy, over 200 pounds and over 6 feet," Petrucci said. "If it had been Casey who had been hit, I don't think she could have survived."
Petrucci and John McManus have spent New Year's Eve together for the last 18 years. "Usually we have a party at his house or at my house. This year we decided to do something different," Petrucci said.
As the sedan that hit McManus sped away, Petrucci was able to get a partial license plate number. Debris at the scene, including a side mirror and part of a headlight, indicated that the car was a sage-green Ford 500, said Folcroft Police Chief Robert Ruskowski.
McManus owns and operates Majestic Solutions, a contracting firm in Collingdale. He and his wife have a daughter, 7, and a son, 8.
Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or sdowney@phillynews.com.
Inquirer staff writer Kia Gregory contributed to this article.
