A former Stroudsburg man will serve one to 12 months in Schuylkill County prison on a charge of reckless endangerment and pay $24,207 in restitution to the Tamaqua man he struck with a car before driving away.

But President Judge William E. Baldwin will allow Yusef K. Desdune, 43, now of Shenandoah, to be on work release, and gave him until 8 a.m. Nov. 2 to enter jail.

Desdune works full time at a factory in Hazleton, and cares single-handedly for his two youngest children, the eldest being in college. The time will allow him to find someone to care for his children.

Public Defender Christopher M. Riedlinger had asked for probation or house arrest due to Desdune’s circumstances.

Further, he said, Desdune had been fleeing from two men he said had assaulted him when he went to a Rowe Street house where he intended to rent a room.

Desdune said there was a “crowd of people chasing the car” he was driving and in which his children were passengers.

“I was in fear for my life,” he said.

Desdune said he had never met the man he struck, Igor Seroka.

“I didn’t intend to hit Mr. Seroka. I feel bad. I’m not a violent person,” Desdune said. “I just take care of my kids and work.”

Reidlinger pointed out that Desdune called police after hitting Seroka.

Baldwin was skeptical.

There were no arrests made in the alleged attack, he said. Riedlinger produced a handwritten statement from one of the men, but Baldwin said that nowhere in it was an admission.

“I think you need to go to jail,” he told Desdune.

Desdune also had statements of support from members of the Tamaqua community, in which Desdune has close ties.

Special Deputy Attorney General Nathan L. Boob said Seroka, who is in his 50s, suffered multiple fractures of his hip and leg.

The incident happened on Aug. 29, 2016, in the 100 block of West Rowe Street.

According to Tamaqua police, they initially responded to a call about a man in a green Honda who had struck a pedestrian and then fled the scene.

As they investigated the scene, they received a call from the county communications center that the driver had called to say he fled because he was being attacked.

He was on Center Street, waiting for police. He had three passengers in the car, an adult woman and two young girls.

After he was released from the hospital, Seroka told police he had been walking toward the rear of his home at 7:35 p.m. when he saw the Honda, parked at the time with three passengers inside. Two men were outside of the vehicle and shook hands before one of the men, Desdune, entered the car and sat behind the driver’s wheel.

After Seroka passed the Honda, he heard the engine revving and a male voice shout “Black lives matter.” As he turned to look, he saw the Honda speeding toward him. He tried to jump out of the way, onto his porch steps, but the car hit him anyway, also damaging his porch.

Desdune was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, reckless driving, careless driving and driving without insurance.

He pleaded guilty to the endangerment charge. The remaining charges were dropped.