VENANGO TWP — A man is accused of intentionally grabbing the steering wheel of a car his girlfriend was driving as they argued last year in northern Butler County, authorities said.

The Chevrolet Malibu crashed into a ditch shortly before 7 p.m. April 17, 2017, on Route 308 in Venango Township near the Butler-Venango county line.

No injuries were reported but the car sustained more than $12,000 in damage.

State police on Wednesday obtained an arrest warrant for Jordan A. McClearn, 24, of Clintonville, Venango County, on charges of aggravated assault, a felony, and simple assault, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, all misdemeanors.

The alleged victim, a 25-year-old Mercer County woman, told police that she was driving McClearn to his home about 7 p.m. April 17, 2017, when they got into an argument, court documents said.

At some point, she recounted, he grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it to the right.

“This action caused her to travel (off) the road crashing her vehicle into a ditch at the edge of a field,” according to a police affidavit. “She then pulled the vehicle onto the berm and called the police.”

Investigators minutes later got McClearn's side of the story. He admitted that he and his girlfriend had been arguing while traveling in the vehicle. But he claimed he only grabbed the steering wheel “because she was driving off the road,” the affidavit said.

However, when the trooper asked McClearn why he pulled the wheel to the right and not the left if he was trying to keep the vehicle from going off the road, he “had no explanation for this act,” police said.

The car sustained extensive damage, police said, but it was drivable from the scene. The damage estimate provided by the victim was $12,905.91, which included a paid $1,400 out-of-pocket deductible.