Hit-run driver suspected in death of 2 teens

Two Butler County teens, Scott Fosnaught and Shawn Bauer, enjoyed riding dirt bikes, but were looking forward to celebrating their 16th birthdays in less than a week and obtaining learning permits as a first step to getting their own driver's licenses and the freedom that comes with it.

A suspected hit-and-run driver changed all that Wednesday.

The two Seneca Valley students left a friend's house early yesterday and were to walk about 1 ¹ / ₂ miles to Bauer's home on Watters Station Road in Forward Township, a rural community dotted with mobile homes and farms about 12 miles southwest of Butler. A passing motorist spotted them lying in the middle of Cashdollar Road shortly before 2 a.m.

Fosnaught, who also lived on Watters Station Road, was pronounced dead at the scene. Bauer was flown to Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, where he died a short time later.

Cheryl Michalski, public information officer for the state police, said investigators believe Fosnaught's injuries indicated that he had been struck by a motor vehicle but that Bauer's injuries were different.

An autopsy showed that Bauer died of head injuries, but the circumstances surrounding his death remain under investigation, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Coroner's Office said.

No skid marks were found along Cashdollar Road to indicate that a driver had slammed on the brakes, Michalski said. She said investigators believe both victims were struck by a hit-and-run driver but that there is no physical evidence that a motor vehicle accident had occurred.

Michalski said it appears unlikely that Fosnaught and Bauer were injured somewhere else and then dumped along the road.

"We are following up leads, but we are looking for the public's help," Michalski said. Any witnesses are asked to call state police at (724) 284-8100.

A spokesman for the Bauer family, Rich Zoeller, 56, of Harmony, is not convinced the deaths were the result of an accident.

"This is suspicious," Zoeller said. "We're hoping the answers will come out."

Friends said Fosnaught and Bauer were looking forward to turning 16.

"They both talked about the freedom they would have once they got their driver's licenses," said Tyler Ireland, 15.

Fosnaught and Bauer often congregated with friends on David Macher's porch.

"They were best friends with my son (Brian)," Macher said. "They hung out everyday here at my house."

"They liked riding motorcycles together, sitting here on the porch smoking cigarettes. Believe me, we went through some Kool Aid," Macher said. "They were all-around American boys. They loved dirt biking together."

Macher described Fosnaught as "one of the quietest kids you'd ever meet." He called Bauer "a ladies man."

Lynnea Bailey, 26, who was driving to her home on Watters Station Road when she spotted the boys lying on the road and called 911, was still shaken late yesterday.

"The worst thing you usually worry about on that road is deer," she said. "I realized right away what I was looking at. This was the creepiest thing I've ever seen.

"I came up on them and neither one flinched. I was almost too terrified to stop. My heart was pounding, and I was shaking so bad I could barely hold the (cellular) phone to my ear."

Yesterday afternoon, about 16 friends of the two boys gathered on Cashdollar Road to plant a flower and grieve.

"Scott just had a smile you could fall in love with," said Jason Cummings, 15, of Cranberry Township.

Zoeller said his heart aches for those who loved Bauer and Fosnaught.

"This is going to be a very hard time for the families," Zoeller said. "You should never have to bury your sons."

Macher agreed. "This shouldn't happen to anybody. Believe me, I'm going to be looking for some drunk guys with dented cars at the bar."