Kiski Township man accused of attacking bar patron who gave him lift home, causing wreck into creek

Kiski Township police accused a resident of causing serious injuries to a man who offered him a ride home.

Michael William Hungerford Jr., 38, of the 100 block of Florida Avenue in Kiski Township was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault along with two counts of simple assault and reckless endangerment.

Hungerford was being detained in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing Feb. 8 before District Judge James Andring.

Police wrote in Hungerford’s arrest papers that, shortly after 3 a.m. Jan. 27, officers responded to the 900 block of Sugar Hollow Road. They said they found a wrecked vehicle in a creek bed and a man outside with facial injuries he suffered during an assault.

The man told police he crashed when Hungerford began punching him in the face, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers said they found Hungerford passed out behind the wheel and that he appeared to be intoxicated when he was awakened because he had slurred speech and difficulty following orders.

After taking Hungerford into custody, police learned he was on probation and took him to the Armstrong County Jail on a probation detainer, the complaint said.

Police said an officer suffered a hand injury when Hungerford kicked him as he was being taken to the jail.

The driver of the vehicle, who was taken to the trauma unit at Forbes Hospital for treatment, told a state trooper assisting with the investigation that he was at the Havin Bar when he went outside about 11 p.m. to clear the snow from his car before leaving, the complaint said.

The man said his was the only other vehicle in the lot, so he asked Hungerford, whom he did not know, if he needed a ride home, the complaint said.

After leaving the bar, the men stopped at Rocky’s Bar on Route 66, where they had one drink before leaving because Hungerford got “worked up” over a previous issue he had with the tavern’s owner, according to the complaint.

The man told investigators he drove Hungerford to his Florida Avenue home, but Hungerford refused repeated orders to get out of the car so he drove off, the complaint said.

The driver of the car told police that, after he pulled onto Sugar Hollow Road, Hungerford began punching him in the head and face. The man said he crashed the car as he tried to fend off the blows by grabbing Hungerford by the throat, the complaint said.

The man suffered multiple broken bones around his eye and nose as well as his nasal cavity, which resulted in aspiration pneumonia, police said.

When police questioned Hungerford at the county jail, he told them the only details he could recall about the incident was meeting the victim at the Havin Bar and that “at one point he walked to the police station,” according to the complaint.

Court records show Hungerford is awaiting trial on charges of disorderly conduct and harassment filed Jan. 8, 2022, as well as simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment charges filed March 14. The charges in both cases were filed by Kiski Township police.

Hungerford also is awaiting trial on charges of disorderly conduct and harassment filed by Apollo police last April