Court records describe a curb jump onto a sidewalk along Warrington Avenue.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A woman accused of driving her ex-boyfriend’s SUV onto a sidewalk and hitting him in Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood is facing attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges as investigators point to city camera footage and court records describing the moments before the crash.
The charges against Chanel Dyer, 38, were filed after police responded to an early Sunday call on Warrington Avenue and found a man unresponsive and bleeding from the head, authorities said. Court paperwork describes him as critically injured with severe internal injuries and serious head trauma. The filing frames the case as an intentional act, while Dyer told police she did not mean to hit anyone and said she had been assaulted shortly before the vehicle moved forward.
Police accounts place the start of the night hours earlier, when Dyer, her ex-boyfriend and two other people went out drinking. According to the criminal complaint, Dyer told investigators the group was together at bars and her ex-boyfriend was eventually kicked out of one of them. The complaint says the group later ended up in a Chevrolet Tahoe and that Dyer was behind the wheel. Dyer told police that while she was driving, she says her ex-boyfriend assaulted her inside the SUV, and she responded by forcing him out of the vehicle.
Dyer’s statement, as summarized in court documents, continues outside the SUV. She told investigators that after her ex-boyfriend got out, he choked her, the complaint says. Police have not publicly provided details on whether they observed injuries on Dyer or whether they collected medical documentation related to that claim. Investigators, however, allege the sequence that followed escalated into a deliberate strike with the SUV. The complaint says police believe Dyer drove onto the sidewalk, hit the man and then left the area.
As police built the case, court documents describe what city cameras captured on Warrington Avenue. In the complaint’s narrative, the Tahoe is seen coming to a stop. Dyer is seen exiting and opening a rear passenger door, and the victim steps out. She then walks around toward the driver’s side while the man follows. The two appear to get into a physical altercation near the vehicle, the complaint says. Once that struggle ends, Dyer returns to the driver’s seat, and the man is seen standing in front of the Tahoe.
The complaint says the camera then shows the Tahoe accelerating toward the man, who disappears from view. Seconds later, the SUV is seen jumping the curb and traveling onto the sidewalk in front of 632 Warrington Ave. The complaint says the Tahoe then comes off the sidewalk and continues down the street. The man is later seen lying in the middle of the north lane of Warrington Avenue, according to the description in the court filing. Police have not released the footage publicly in the documents summarized by local media.
The first emergency response described in public reporting came early Sunday morning, when authorities said a man was found unresponsive with a head injury after being hit by a vehicle on Warrington Avenue. Police said he had been struck while on the sidewalk. In the court filing tied to Dyer’s arrest, investigators described the victim as bleeding from the head and suffering multiple severe internal injuries and head injuries. Officials have not released a later condition update in the publicly available report.
Dyer denied she intended to hurt her ex-boyfriend, according to the complaint. The documents say she told police she saw him in front of the Tahoe but said she was not aware she had hit anyone. The complaint says she told investigators she would never intentionally hit him. The victim is identified in court paperwork as Hardick. Beyond that name, authorities have not publicly provided further identifying details in the summary of the complaint.
Dyer is charged with criminal attempted homicide and aggravated assault, according to court records. Those charges are typically used when prosecutors believe a person tried to cause serious bodily injury or death. Police have not publicly detailed what additional evidence they may have beyond the camera footage, such as vehicle damage, forensic testing, or witness statements from the other people said to be with the couple earlier in the night. The complaint’s account focuses on the camera sequence and Dyer’s claims about what happened before the SUV moved.
Dyer was taken to the Allegheny County Jail and is being held without bail, court records show. It was not immediately clear from the public summary whether she has hired a lawyer or when she is scheduled to appear next in court. In felony cases, defendants typically face a preliminary hearing where prosecutors must show enough evidence to move the case forward, followed by additional hearings that can determine whether charges are held for court, reduced, or dismissed. The public report did not list a hearing date.
The incident site on Warrington Avenue sits in a dense residential area where sidewalks run tight to the roadway and traffic can move quickly through the corridor. Police said the strike happened on the sidewalk, and the complaint’s description of the video includes the SUV mounting the curb in front of a specific address. Investigators have not said whether any nearby businesses or homes provided additional private camera footage, or whether the case will rely mainly on the city camera system referenced in the complaint.
For now, the criminal case turns on how prosecutors present the video timeline and how defense attorneys frame Dyer’s statements about being assaulted and choked. The next milestone will be the first court proceeding that tests the complaint’s allegations in open court, as the victim’s condition and investigators’ evidence gathering continue to shape what comes next.
Author note: Last updated March 3, 2026.