BUTLER TWP — Police are seeking a woman who they say struck a township officer with a car Tuesday evening during an apparent getaway at the Point Plaza shopping center on New Castle Road.

Patrolman Rachel Dovidio was “pinched” between the fleeing vehicle and another parked vehicle shortly before 7 p.m., police said, and at one point was briefly on the hood of the suspect's car. But Dovidio managed to roll off the car and land on her feet, unharmed, said Butler Township police Lt. Matthew Pearson.

Police are saying little about the investigation, including the identity of the driver of the gold Chevrolet Cobalt. Officers later found the car abandoned on Seneca Drive near the Butler Commons shopping plaza in the township.

A witness reported seeing two women get out of the car and run into woods around Alameda Park. Police, with the help of the Butler police K-9 officer, searched the woods but they did not find either woman, Pearson said.

The car was seized and secured at the police department's garage.

Police Detective Sgt. David Fish said a 911 hang-up call at 6:40 p.m. initially sent officers to Point Plaza.

“An employee pointed to an intoxicated female in the parking lot,” Fish said.

Dovidio approached the car, which was occupied by two women. While Dovidio talked to the driver to gather information, the driver backed up, hitting the officer, and sped off.

The getaway vehicle reportedly was seen traveling west on New Castle Road. Authorities said police never conducted a “chase” of the suspect vehicle.

Officers in two patrol cars activated their emergency lights and sirens but they never caught sight of the fleeing vehicle. Police about 45 minutes later recovered the suspect vehicle, a mile or so from Point Plaza.

Investigators have spoken to the car's owner, a Clay Township man, who is “cooperating,” Pearson said. He would not elaborate. Officers throughout the night continued the search for the woman but to no avail.

Back at the Rite Aid in Point Plaza, an employee Tuesday told the Butler Eagle that the woman wanted by police initially came into the store and asked to use the photo lab. The employee, who did not give her name, described the woman as appearing impaired, possibly on drugs. The woman later advised the employee that she “could not get (the photo machine) to work.” She left after wiring money from the store to someone.