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Good Samaritans rescue victim of apparent domestic violence

ADAMS TWP — Two motorists turned good Samaritans Wednesday to help a woman being attacked by her boyfriend on the side of a road, authorities said.

Adams Township police later arrested Nicholas A. Brittner, 28, of Forward Township on assault and other charges.

The incident played out shortly after 4 p.m. on Crider Road, where Brittner allegedly choked his girlfriend, 26-year-old Ashlee Morrison, and threw her on the ground.

A motorist, on her way home from a friend's house, saw “a woman running from a man” and stopped to help, police said.

The apparent victim asked the motorist to “stay with her so Brittner would not hit her any more,” according to court documents.

The defendant eventually caught up to Morrison.

A second motorist, driving home from work, saw what was happening and stopped, too. He described the suspect as grabbing the woman “by the throat” and “shaking her in a violent manner,” documents said.

The same motorist, who called 911, also saw the defendant throw the woman to the ground.

He got the victim, along with the woman who stopped to help, into his vehicle, and they drove to the nearby MedExpress clinic, where they waited for police.

Morrison told officers that she and Brittner had been drinking at a bar on Crider Road. When she went to leave, he became angry, police said.

She said she tried to get away from him but he chased her down, grabbed her neck and pushed her to the ground. She also claimed her boyfriend had previously assaulted her during their relationship.

Police noted in their report that Morrison had no visible injuries.

Officers arrested the suspect at the scene.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Brittner on charges of simple assault, ethnic intimidation, harassment, disorderly conduct and harassment.

He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $3,000 bail following arraignment. A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday at the office of District Judge Wayne Seibel in Evans City.

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