‘Mommy, Mama, It Hurts!’: Former Pennsylvania Cop Who Struck Two 4-Year-Olds in Crosswalk While in Uniform Avoids Jail Time
Gunner Vuocolo appeared to have a promising career in the hospitality industry when he decided to become a cop in Pennsylvania.
But his career as a Clinton County sheriff’s deputy came to a crashing end when the 23-year-old man struck two 4-year-old children in a crosswalk last year while allegedly on his phone. The children were walking with their mother, who was pushing a stroller with a baby and had the right-of-way.
The incident took place on Nov. 18, 2025, in Lock Haven and was captured on surveillance video while Vuocolo was off-duty and driving his personal car, according to Clinton County sheriff officials. But it appears he was still in uniform when he struck the children, who were hurled into the air and landed on the street.
The video also shows the children’s mother, Manda Haines, hit Vuocolo twice after he steps out of the car, but fortunately, he did not strike back or shoot her or charge her for assault.
Vuocolo, instead, appears confused and scared, dialing a number on the phone to make a phone call before the 49-second video ends.
The incident led to Vuocolo’s resignation and criminal charges being filed against him, including reckless driving, careless driving, and four counts of reckless endangerment – which could have sent him to prison for three to five years.
But a judge in April allowed him to enter into a pre-trial diversion program for first-time offenders known as Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a type of probation that would allow him to expunge the charges if he remains out of trouble for six months.
Watch the video below.
‘Slap on the Wrist’
The decision has sparked an outcry from the child’s mother and others online who believe he got off lightly because of his status as a law enforcement officer.
“Even tho all of lock haven tried covering it up because of who he was. And getting him off,” Haines posted on her Facebook page on April 28.
“His deal was still pretty much a slap on the wrist for what he did but we definitely got more than just the traffic violations that lock haven was pushing for,” she said.
Although Pennsylvania court records show Vuocolo has not had any criminal charges filed against him before the incident, he pleaded guilty to a speeding citation in 2022.
Haines said she wanted to read an impact statement at the hearing, but the judge did not allow it, so she posted it on Facebook instead.
“This was not an unavoidable accident,” Haines wrote on her Facebook post. “It was the direct result of distracted driving while my children and I were visibly and lawfully present in a designated pedestrian crosswalk.”
“As law enforcement you should know better and be better. How can you trust someone who breaks the law to uphold others to the law?”
Culinary Education
Clinton County Sheriff Kerry Stover told local media that Vuocolo’s resignation had nothing to do with the incident but because he was relatively a new hire who “failed to meet the Deputy Sheriff’s Training Academy criteria and therefore could not become a state-certified deputy.”
But local media also reported “Vuocolo’s termination from the department was approved March 26” by the Clinton County Board of Commissioners.
In other words, had Vuocolo been on the force long enough to become certified, he would most likely still be on the force.
And while he may have difficulty finding another job in law enforcement, he graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Technology with an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts in December 2023, according to his LinkedIn page.
His LinkedIn page, which does not mention his employment as a law enforcement officer, says he worked as a contractor for Levy Restaurants in May 2023, which is a national hospitality company specializing in food and beverage services at sporting events.
The Remaining Trauma
Although it appears that Vuocolo has placed this chapter behind him, Haines remains outraged that her two children could have been killed, and says they remain traumatized.
“The little girl you hit, her name is Raelynn. Raelynn used to want to be a cop when she grew up; now she’s terrified of law enforcement and no longer wants to be one,” she posted on Facebook.
“Once one of her favorite colors was red, now she associates red with ‘your shiny red car’ the car that hit her and hurt her, what once was an innocent childhood favorite nor triggers fear and distress,” Haines’ statement explained.
“The little boy you hit, his name is Eli,” she continued. “Eli is a typical little boy. He acts like it doesn’t bother him, but it does.”
“We see the fear in his eyes too. He has that same look of sheer terror and hesitancy in his eyes at the thought of walking anywhere.”
“The physical injuries were minor, some scrapes, bruises, dead baby teeth, fluid on her knee, and a concussion. Things could have turned out a lot worse than they did. It’s the psychological impact that is more damaging,” she continued.
Haines says she was also left traumatized and has been attending therapy sessions since the incident.
“The emotional trauma is the worst part of it,” she wrote.
“I can still hear it; the sound haunts me. The sound of the initial impact of you hitting her; that sound is almost worse than the actual sight of it happening.”
“The sound of her screaming, ‘mommy, mama it hurts, mama I’m scared, mama why did he hit us, ‘ and the sound of my own screams will forever be ingrained into my brain,” she continued.