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Dalton Lee Janiczek, 21, is accused of first fleeing officers in Whitpain Township just outside of Philadelphia, in the US state of Pennsylvania, about midday on Friday when they tried to pull him over for a routine traffic infraction. Janiczek managed to elude police for a while after he steered his high-end SUV over the median strip on a major road in the town, prosecutors said. He was then spotted in his vehicle at a Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel in Plymouth Township 40 minutes later. As police in a patrol car descended on him, Janiczek allegedly threw his luxury car into reverse, “struck the patrol vehicle several times” and then aimed the massive SUV at one of the officers, authorities said. “Janiczek accelerated directly at the officer, attempting to hit him, and the officer discharged his firearm,” the District Attorney’s office said in a statement. “Again, Janiczek accelerated the vehicle, this time striking the officer, causing him to fall. “As the officer attempted to administer a tourniquet to a leg wound, the Mercedes circled back around the lot and struck the officer three more times as he laid on the ground.” The violence only ended when Janiczek slammed his SUV head-on into a police car and was finally taken into custody, prosecutors said. Two officers were injured in the mayhem. Janiczek — who graduated from all-boys, private La Salle College High School, attended Loyola Marymount University and was a member of the school’s men’s rowing team as a freshman, records show — fronted court on Saturday. He was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and other offences, and is being held without bail pending a return court appearance November 4. The injured officers were taken to a local hospital, where one underwent surgery. Both were listed in stable condition and are expected to survive, Fox affiliate WTXF-TV reported. Records show Janiczek is the son of Lee Janiczek, a partner with the Pennsylvania law firm of Lee Janiczek, and grew up in a spacious home in Ambler, Pennsylvania, worth more than $US1.4 million ($2.15 million). His parents did not respond to calls for comment from The Post on Sunday. This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
