Vandergrift man accused of assaulting woman in his car

A Vandergrift man is accused of breaking a woman’s facial bone and knocking her out while they were in his car.

Timothy John Turner, 45, of Franklin Avenue is charged with assault, terroristic threats and harassment after an incident Jan. 17.

According to a police report, Turner was charged after the woman suffered a fractured orbital bone, a concussion and was knocked out, the report said.

The woman told police that Turner was driving her home after they had both gone to a mutual friend’s house. She said Turner drove around the Vandergrift area but did not take her home.

She alleges he began rubbing her legs over her clothing, and she told him to stop. She pushed him away as he allegedly continued his advances, which is when the woman said he struck her in the face and she was knocked unconscious.

In the police report, Turner disputes the story, saying he drove the woman home but she refused to get out of the car. At that point, he said, he drove to his residence, but she still wouldn’t get out of the car, so he kept driving.

Turner alleged the woman “at some point began repeatedly striking” him in the head, and he may have struck her while defending himself “but did not intentionally strike her.”

He returned to the mutual friend’s house, and two friends walked her home from there.

Police interviewed multiple people who observed Turner and the woman at the mutual friends’ house before and after the alleged incident. They said when Turner and the woman left to drive her home, the woman had no injuries and the two appeared to be in good spirits.

After Turner brought the woman back, one person told police her eye was swollen and “looked like a golf ball” and there was blood on her nose. The woman said, “I just wanted him to take me home.”

Police said they viewed Facebook posts from an account with Turner’s name after the fact, one of which said, “Try and help a friend, I will never do it again,” and another comment under the post containing profanity and threats to “shoot” someone “in the face.”

The state police are investigating. The investigating officer, Jeffrey Walton, could not be reached Friday afternoon.

According to court documents, Turner was arraigned Jan. 18 and posted bail before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2.