A Pennsylvania driver has been charged with attempted murder after intentionally striking two police officers with his Mercedes SUV, court records show.
Dalton Lee Janiczek, 21, of Lower Gwynedd, was arrested Friday and charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and related offenses.
The charges stem from a series of incidents that unfolded early Friday afternoon.
Plymouth Township police first received reports of an erratic driver in Plymouth Meeting shortly after 12:30 p.m., NBC Philadelphia reported.
An officer arrived at the scene a few minutes later and located the suspect’s vehicle — a white 2021 Mercedes G-Wagon — in the parking lot of a Double Tree Hotel on Fountain Road, officials said.
As the officer pulled up behind the Mercedes, the suspect, later identified as Gwynedd, allegedly backed and crashed into the police car.
When the officer got out of his vehicle, Gwynedd deliberately drove at him, according to police. The officer then fired at the suspect, striking him, but Gwynedd continued to drive through the parking lot.
While the officer was tending to his injury, Gwynedd returned to the area and struck the officer three more times, according to Tom Nolan, deputy chief of detectives for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
“He’s trying to self-put on a tourniquet, the vehicle drives directly at him, striking him a second time,” Nolan told CBS News. “The vehicle then does back up two additional times and strikes the officer intentionally two more times.”
When backup officers arrived on the scene, Gwynedd allegedly drove head-on into a second Plymouth cop’s patrol car.
Both wounded officers were taken to nearby hospitals and were listed in stable condition.
When he was eventually taken into custody, Janiczek allegedly threatened another officer, saying, “Put me in the car or I will kill you,” according court documents cited by NBC Philadelphia.
Janiczek is currently being held without bail, jail records show. He’s due back in court Nov. 4.
Plymouth Meeting is a historic area in the eastern part of Plymouth Township, about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
