1 Critically Injured After Car Plows Into Crowd At Bucks Co. Bar; Police Seeking Driver

LOWER SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, PA — Police are seeking a Philadelphia man who "deliberately accelerated" toward a group of five pedestrians — critically injuring one — early New Year's Day outside a Bustleton Pike bar.

The Lower Southampton Township Police Department seeks Roba Gasitashvili, 22, of Philadelphia, on charges of Criminal Attempt - Homicide, aggravated assault, and other offenses for the incident at 2:02 a.m. Jan. 1.

Lower Southampton Police responded to the Hive Lounge at 146 Bustleton Pike for a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.

The victim, a 29-year-old Philadelphia man, was found unconscious in the parking lot with serious facial and head trauma. He was rushed to St. Mary Medical Center in critical condition, with injuries consistent with skull fractures and internal injuries, police said.

Police said surveillance video from the Hive Lounge showed the driver of a white Volkswagen deliberately accelerating toward a group of five pedestrians, striking the victim, two other pedestrians, and two parked vehicles.

Police said the driver continued to circle the building, repeatedly driving toward pedestrians who narrowly avoided being struck, before briefly stopping near the victim and fleeing northbound on Bustleton Pike.

Police did not say what caused Gasitashvili to want to run over the pedestrians, nor what happened inside the Hive Lounge just before the incident.

The white Volkswagen Jetta was found about 0.9 miles away in the TJ Maxx parking lot on East Street Road but was unoccupied. Police said the car had significant front-end damage, blood on the hood and grille, a shattered windshield with what appeared to be a human impression, a deployed airbag, missing parts, and leaking fluids.

Police seek Gasitashvili on charges of Criminal Attempt to Commit Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Assault by Vehicle, Possession of an Instrument of Crime, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Disorderly Conduct, and Driving at an Unsafe Speed.