Man accused of assaulting police, attempting to hit restaurant workers with pickup truck in North Huntingdon

A bizarre incident outside a McDonald’s restaurant in North Huntingdon resulted in the arrest of a Hempfield man on numerous charges, including aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and DUI, according to township police

George J. Gardner, 46, failed to post $50,000 bond and was ordered held in the county prison after he was charged in connection with the incident in the parking lot of the fast-food restaurant off Route 30 about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

Police said all units were called to respond to a disturbance “with a lot of commotion” outside the McDonald’s, where Gardner was circling the building numerous times “at a high rate of speed” in a red 2008 Toyota pickup truck.

When four occupants in a blue van parked nearby expressed concern, police said Gardner stopped, grabbed an ax handle from inside his truck and smashed a passenger side window on the van. Police said he pulled a male passenger out of the vehicle, ripping his shirt, and repeatedly punched him.

After the assault, Gardner got back in his truck, “backed up and sped” towards three McDonald’s employees as they were leaving work, police said.

“Gardner drove over a 6-inch curb in the attempt to strike the three female employees,” police said in court documents.

Gardner then parked his truck, got out and was walking toward the workers when officers arrived and ordered him to surrender.

Police said the 6-foot tall, 270-pound Gardner initially complied, lying face down in the parking lot and was handcuffed. But police said he was verbally combative, “yelling threats and vulgar obscenities at officers,” and then became physically combative, kicking and spitting at officers as they attempted to put him a patrol car.

Police said Gardner smelled of alcohol and officers recovered an empty bottle of vodka from his truck and a 24-ounce can of Twisted Tea. Police also confiscated a small amount of marijuana.

In addition to six counts of aggravated assault and seven counts of reckless endangerment, Gardner is charged with careless driving, disorderly conduct, DUI, driving at an unsafe speed, possession of prohibitive offensive weapons, possession of marijuana, public drunkenness and simple assault.

According to online dockets, Gardner was sentenced to 90 days to one year in jail in Allegheny County after pleading guilty in 2001 to DUI and resisting arrest after a September 2000 incident in Bridgeville.

Gardner’s preliminary hearing is Aug. 4.