Police: West Deer woman hit man with car during argument in driveway
West Deer police say a township woman tried to drive away from a house in the township with a man on the hood of her SUV Thursday morning after hitting him with it.
Police Chief Robert Loper said Pamela Wagner, 58, fled the scene of the incident in the 100 block of Donaldson Road. She was arrested when she returned to the area about 45 minutes later.
According to a criminal complaint, the argument stemmed from paperwork missing from a business that the man owns and for which Wagner works. The man believes Wagner stole important bank information from his office.
The man told police he heard a vehicle pull into his driveway around 8:20 a.m. while he was sitting on his back porch with two others. He went to the driveway to talk with Wagner, but she got in the SUV and tried to drive away.
The complaint says the man stood in front of the SUV and asked Wagner where the paperwork was. He said Wagner started driving the SUV toward him, and he jumped onto the hood to stop her from running him over.
The complaint says Wagner refused to stop. The man said he fell off the SUV, suffering small abrasions to his back and right elbow.
Paramedics evaluated the man, but he refused treatment.
Loper said Wagner fled before officers arrived. The complaint says Wagner called county dispatch and said she was at a motel along Route 8. Hampton police checked the area for the SUV but could not find it.
Loper said officers were getting statements from witnesses at the scene when Wagner returned to a neighboring home and called 911 herself to let authorities know she was there.
Wagner’s attorney, David Joel Shrager, could not be reached for comment.
The complaint states a friend of the man had a gun and pulled it on Wagner. Police said the man told them he pulled out his gun for his own safety because of Wagner trying to run over the man; he claimed he kept it down by his side and never pointed it at anyone.
Police said they found the gun in a pistol case, unloaded with the slide locked and ammunition separated. The firearm was registered properly.
Police charged Wagner with simple assault and harassment.
She was arraigned before District Judge Tom Swan and released on a nonmonetary bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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