Levittown Man Charged In Fatal Hit-And-Run

A Levittown man fled the country after he hit and killed a bicyclist on Dec. 19 in Bristol Borough, authorities announced Friday.

Ali Hakan Cifter, 35, of Kentucky Lane was charged today with multiple criminal offenses, including three felonies. Cifter is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, homicide by vehicle and aggravated assault by vehicle and related charges, the Bucks County District Attorney announced.

Police allege that Cifter was racing another car on Route 13 in his 2003 Mercedes Benz AMG when he struck and killed Kevin M. Williams Sr. near Corson Street. Williams, 52, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cifter drove the damaged Mercedes home, hid it in his garage and told his roommate had hit a deer, police allege.

The roommate contacted police on Dec. 23, telling officers the whereabouts of the Mercedes, a probable cause affidavit said. Police executed a search warrant later that day and seized the vehicle, which matched parts recovered by officers at the crash scene, court documents say.

But by that time, Cifter, an American citizen originally from Turkey, had fled the country, authorities said.

Cifter took a Dec. 21 flight from JFK International Airport to Serbia. Two days after leaving the United States, the affidavit said, Cifter contacted Bristol Borough Police and confessed to his involvement in the fatal crash.

He told police that Williams had jumped out in front of him, and that he had left the scene because he was scared, the affidavit said.

The case has been assigned to Deputy District Attorney Robert D. James, who said he would work with federal authorities to seek to have Cifter extradited to the United States for prosecution.

PHOTO: Bucks DA