MAN SHOT IN CHEST DRIVES FOR HELP

WHITEHALL RESIDENT GETS NEIGHBOR WITH TRUCK'S AIR HORN. WIFE SUSPECT IN SHOOTING.

TIM BLANGGER And CHRISTIAN BERG

The Morning Call

A Whitehall Township man, shot in the chest by his wife Friday night in their home, lay bleeding for hours before he sought help by driving a tractor-trailer truck to a neighbor's home, where he used the truck's air horn to summon help, officials said.

Charles Mensinger, 52, of 5340 Second St. was shot about 8 p.m., said Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin. He was in serious condition Saturday at St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill.

Martin said Mensinger is expected to survive.

Mensinger's wife, Ruth, who also lives at the home, fled after the shooting, Martin said. He said warrants were issued Saturday charging her with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated and simple assault and a weapons offense.

Martin said Ruth Mensinger fled with the couple's daughter, Chelsea, 12, in a blue and white conversion van. She may be heading toward Tennessee, Martin said.

The Mensinger home is on a small hill overlooking Second Street in the village of Cementon, near the Lehigh River. The home's only access is a gravel alley, which leads from the house to Kemmerer Street in the village.

Martin said that once Mensinger was able to get enough strength, he struggled to his truck in a wide parking area near the home and drove it about 20 yards down the alley, stopping it in front of a green garage.

Neighbors and Martin said Mensinger then kept blasting the horn to call a neighbor, Benjamin M. `Benny` Kovalcik, who called police.

Kovalcik said he had arrived home just before the incident and was in bed about 10 minutes when he heard Mensinger blowing the horn.

At first, Kovalcik said, he thought someone was upset because of being parked into the alley. But when the horn continued, Kovalcik said, he went outside to investigate and discovered Mensinger holding his hand over a gunshot wound on the right side of his chest.

Kovalcik said he then ran back into his home and called 911. After placing the call, Kovalcik said, he returned to Mensinger's truck with blankets and ice and waited for police.

"It seemed like an eternity," Kovalcik said of the five-minute wait.

During that time, Kovalcik said, he spoke briefly with Mensinger.

"He just said his wife shot him," Kovalcik said. "I really didn't want to ask him too many questions."

Kovalcik said he didn't know the Mensingers well, but added that they seemed like nice people and always took time to chat with neighbors they met in the alley.

Another neighbor, Rick Cesanek of 5314 Second St., arrived at Mensinger's truck a few minutes after Kovalcik.

"He was awake and talking," Cesanek said of Mensinger. "I guess that is a good sign. We didn't want to move him too much."

Police and ambulance personnel took Mensinger to Victor C. Talotta Park, which is called Cementon Park, at Fornaciari Drive and Route 329, about a mile from the Mensinger home, where an evacuation helicopter met them.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Mensinger drove the truck to his neighbor's home or allowed it to roll down the steep alley. The alley ends at the Mensinger property.

"No Trespassing," "Keep Out" and "Private Property" signs are posted at the entrance to the parking area.

The truck was shut off by the time Cesanek arrived, but Cesanek said, "Knowing Charlie, I'm sure he drove it down."

A man who identified himself as a brother of the shooting victim said the family had no comment.

When asked why Mensinger didn't use a telephone in the home to call for help, the brother said, "All the telephones were disconnected."

He didn't elaborate.

Another neighbor, Tammy Hobar of the 5300 block of Second Street, heard the horn blasts just before midnight and saw dozens of police officers, some of them wearing bulletproof vests and carrying battering rams, in the alley behind her home.

"They looked like a SWAT team," Hobar said.

After more than three peaceful decades, Kovalcik said, the incident made his neighborhood feel a little less safe.

"I had to lock my doors last night for the first time in 31 years," he said.

Contact Tim Blangger  610-820-6722 tim.blangger@mcall.com