Police: Panhandler Tries To Pull Woman Out Of Car By Her Hair
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A man is facing charges for allegedly trying to pull a woman out of her car by her hair while he was panhandling near the city's Polish Hill neighborhood.
The incident happened in the late-night hours of July 3, at the intersection of Bigelow Boulevard and Herron Avenue.
Police say the victim and other witnesses told them the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Noah Walker, "is a regular panhandler in and around this intersection."
According to the criminal complaint, the victim and her husband were stopped at the light in the inbound, turning lane of Bigelow Boulevard when Walker came up to their car.
The victim told police Walker went up to her husband on the driver's side asking for spare change. When he ignored him, she said Walker seemed to walk away only to suddenly appear on the passenger side of the car seconds later.
The criminal complaint reports that he grabbed the victim by her hair and head, trying to pull her out of the vehicle.
"Upon hearing his wife's screams for help and seeing her being pulled through the vehicle window," police say in the criminal complaint that the victim's husband reached over and grabbed her by the torso to keep her in the car.
As that was happening, police say his foot slipped off the brake and the couple's car slammed into the vehicle in front of them, pushing it into the intersection.
In the middle of the intersection, that car pulled away, but police later managed to track it down to the owners' home nearby. They told investigators they heard someone screaming behind them, and not knowing what was going on, the family left.
Officers later found Walker at the same intersection where the incident happened.
Police say both couples' were able to identify him from a photo array. He is now facing charges.
Meanwhile, the victim suffered scratches and bruises, and was also having upper back and neck pain.
