Woman accused of hit-run that injured Rochester jogger indicted on two felonies

Joyce Howard (Rochester Police photo)

DOVER - An elderly city woman accused in an October hit and run that left a Rochester man with severe spinal injuries has been indicted by a Strafford County grand jury on charges of conduct after an accident and second degree assault.

Joyce Howard, 69, of Mcduffee Street, faces three and a half to seven years in state prison on each charge if found guilty.

Matt Lefebvre was jogging a little before 6 a.m. on Oct. 11 when he was struck while crossing a street near Burger King on North Main Street.

He suffered three spinal cord injuries, nine broken ribs, a broken sternum and clavicle, a punctured lung, nerve damage to his left side and a severe laceration that went from ear to ear on top of his head that took 25 staples to stop the bleeding.

According to Howard's lawyer, Alfred T. Catalfo II, his client has no recollection of the incident, he said at a hearing in Strafford County Superior Court last month.

Meanwhile, Lefebvre continues his recovery at home. At a January benefit held at the Governor's Inn he told The Rochester Voice he was moving around with little pain and getting better day by day.

Strafford Superior Court Judge Mark E. Howard has scheduled a trial for February of next year.

The Strafford County indictments were handed down on March 17 and released today.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, rather that enough evidence has been gathered to warrant moving forward to trial.