Jeannette man charged in hatchet attack; wounded man requires emergency surgery

A man was hospitalized Sunday after a hatchet attack in Hempfield, state police said.

Kyle Joseph Bair, 32, of Jeannette is behind bars in connection with the assault troopers said left the injured man with a serious wound that required emergency surgery.

“It appears that it was very graphic and very scary,” Trooper Steve Limani said.

Police said they were called to Independence Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg at 2:30 a.m. and learned the wounded man was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital. Investigators said they found Bair outside with a large amount of blood on his clothing and arms, according to court papers.

Bair told authorities he and his friend got into an argument after leaving a friend’s party about 10:30 p.m. in Unity. The argument continued as they got into separate cars on Brinkerton Road in Hempfield with the wounded man ramming Bair’s car and Bair retrieving the hatchet from his back seat, according to court papers.

As he swung the weapon at the other man’s Mercedes, Bair told police, he heard the man scream and saw he had a deep cut to his torso. Bair drove him to the hospital. Police said he was in critical but stable condition Sunday at UPMC Presbyterian.

Limani said police were continuing to gather evidence and seized the hatchet and both vehicles.

“Unfortunately, this is typical in domestics, when it escalates and when someone actually has a severe injury, a lot of times that’s when it stops,” he said. “It’s not uncommon for the person that inflicted the injury to render aid.”

Even though Bair took the wounded man to the hospital, that doesn’t excuse his actions, Limani said.

“There’s repercussions that come along with that,” he said. “In this particular case, the repercussion is aggravated assault.”

Bair is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment. He was being held at Westmoreland County Prison without bail. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for July 19.