Police cite domestic dispute in wreck
JACKSON TWP — A woman and her ex-husband were injured Tuesday morning when a sport utility vehicle they were riding in crashed over an embankment and into a tree along Pattison Street Extension during what police said was a “rolling domestic” incident.
Nichole M. Saeler, 46, of Summit Township, told authorities that she lost control of the vehicle when Joseph E. Saeler, 50, of Oakland Township punched her in her face as she was driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jackson Township police said.
The former couple had been at a methadone clinic in Cranberry Township earlier that morning, according to investigators.
Both occupants were trapped in the vehicle, which ended up in a wooded area, and had to be rescued by emergency crews following the wreck shortly after 6:30 a.m., authorities said.
Joseph Saeler was taken by ambulance to nearby Evans City Elementary School, where a medical helicopter landed and flew him to a Pittsburgh hospital. Nichole Saeler was taken by ambulance Butler Memorial Hospital.
Their conditions were not known, but police said that both were “conscious and alert” following the crash.
Nichole Saeler told officer Chris Miller that she had driven to the Discovery House with her former husband that morning to pick up her medication, Jackson Township police Chief Terry Seilhamer said.
She told police she's “a recovering addict,” Seilhamer said.
The two got into an argument at the clinic and she drove away, leaving him there.
She later picked him up on Ehrman Road in Cranberry Township, police said, after he called and asked her to come and get him.
At some point, while back in the vehicle together, police said, they got into another argument over who should be driving. She recounted that he punched her in the face, which caused her to veer off Pattison Street Extension, about one mile south of Route 68, police said.
Joseph Saeler denied hitting her, Seilhamer said.
The vehicle, which was traveling north, went over the embankment and into a lightly wooded area on a home's property.The homeowner told the Butler Eagle that he heard the crash and called 911. He declined further comment.The Harmony Fire District and Evans City volunteer firefighters responded along with police. The first-responders found both occupants trapped. Police said Joseph Saeler was saying, “Get me out of this vehicle.”Fire crews had to extricate the occupants. The passenger side door had to be removed as part of the rescue.Police said the vehicle's air bags deployed. It was unclear if Nichole Saeler was wearing a seat belt; her ex-husband was not, police said.Nichole Saeler had swelling to her right cheek and eye area, which police say was consistent with her account of being punched,She also suffered injuries in the wreck, including to her forehead and both legs. Joseph Saeler suffered a broken leg and other injuries.She was subsequently taken by Harmony EMS to the Butler hospital. A STAT MedEvac helicopter flew him to UPMC Presbyterian hospital.Seilhamer noted that police later confirmed with Discovery House officials that Nichole Saeler had been at the clinic that morning. Police said they found her with the prescribed medication at the crash scene.Joseph Saeler is facing charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment stemming from the alleged domestic. His ex-wife is facing a pair of traffic violations — driving with a suspended license and driving a vehicle without insurance.When asked if drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, Seilhamer said it was “possible,” but he would not elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.
