A New Kensington woman is accused of repeatedly punching an Allegheny Valley Hospital security guard in the head and biting another guard’s arm when they tried to calm her after she became combative in the emergency room, police said.

Teresa Cox, 31, of the 1200 block of Kenneth Avenue was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault along with two counts each of simple assault and harassment and a count of disorderly conduct.

She was released on a nonmonetary bond and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on Wednesday, March 8, according to court records.

An investigator for Highmark Health police wrote in a criminal complaint that, shortly after 4:15 a.m. Feb. 15, an officer who responded to the emergency room at AHN Allegheny Valley for a report of a combative patient found Cox on the floor scuffling with two security guards.

The officer said Cox grabbed hold of one security guard’s hair and bit the second guard in the arm when the officer tried to pry Cox’s hand open, the complaint said.

Hospital staff were able to pin Cox on the ground until a nurse arrived to place her in restraints, according to investigators.

The security guard told police Cox pulled a chunk of hair from her scalp and punched her in the side of the head several times, breaking her prescription eyeglasses.

Police said the other security guard had an oval-shaped bite mark on his forearm that broke the skin.

The guards were treated for their injuries and released, police said.

A New Kensington paramedic who transported Cox to the hospital and then helped restrain her when she began fighting with staff told police that Cox escaped from the rear of the ambulance as it was pulling up to the emergency room and went in through the automatic doors, the complaint said.

Medics were able to contain her by ushering her through security doors that require a key card to open, investigators said.

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