A 50-year-old man faces two counts of aggravated assault after running down a firefighter Thursday afternoon at a Williams Township crash scene and then biting the Pennsylvania State trooper who tried to arrest him after he fled, authorities said.
It was the man’s second alleged instance that day of an aggravated assault attempt involving what court papers call “designated individuals” — which usually refers to authority figures such as the police.
The Williams Township incident began about 2:30 p.m. near Berger and Morvale roads, Trooper Nathan Branosky said. Berger Road was closed by a crash but Melvin Woodson Jr., of the Quakertown area, was driving west and cut over to the east side of the road to get past the stopped traffic, Branosky said. Woodson struck a Williams Township firefighter, who suffered minor injuries and was treated at an area hospital, before fleeing and hitting an unoccupied state police vehicle, Branosky said.
The car Woodson was driving broke down on Morgan Hill Road near Morvale and Woodson got out and began to walk away, Branosky said. State troopers tried to take Woodson into custody but Woodson fought with them, Branosky said. Citing court papers, arraigning Judge Douglas Schlegel said police allege Woodson bit a trooper on both hands.