A Mercer County man is behind bars on charges he was the driver of a van that struck a horse-drawn buggy early Monday in Mercer County and then fled the scene. The crash has left the buggy driver hospitalized in critical condition.

Timothy F. Alter, 29, of Transfer, is being held in the Mercer County prison on Pennsylvania State Police charges of hit and run involving death or injury, hit and run involving death or injury while not licensed and accidents involving damage to an attended vehicle.

Alter was arrested Tuesday night at his residence after police received a tip from a concerned citizen, according to the arrest affidavit filed in the case. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge James McMahon and placed in jail on a parole violation detainer.

Police allege Alter was the driver of a van that struck the back of a horse-drawn buggy on Route 358, just east of Huey Road near Hadley at 12:45 a.m. Monday.

The impact of the crash caused a Crawford County man, Erven A. Byler, 22, of Hartstown, to be ejected from the buggy, police said. Byler was thrown about 50 feet and his horse was killed in the incident.

Byler remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at St. Elizabeth’s Trauma Center in Youngstown, Ohio.

Alter faces a preliminary hearing on the charges May 16 before Magisterial District Judge Lorinda Hinch in Mercer.