A 21-year-old Pennsylvania man, Dalton Lee Janiczek, faces felony charges, including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, after a violent episode involving a white Mercedes G-Wagon and a dramatic police encounter in Plymouth Township.
According to WPVI, it happened on October 24, 2025, and escalated into a high-speed chase, a parking-lot attack, and a head-on crash, leaving two officers injured. According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Janiczek “intentionally” struck a patrol officer multiple times as the officer lay wounded in the hotel lot.
The case has drawn attention not only because of the extreme nature of the charges, but also because of Janiczek’s background. He is a student at Loyola Marymount University and was a member of the men’s crew team.
Before university, he graduated from La Salle College High School in Springfield Township. He is the son of a well-known attorney in the area. The luxury Mercedes G-Wagon reportedly involved is valued at approximately $148,000.
Since then, a viral TikTok video taken by witnesses shows the white Mercedes G-Wagon driven by Janiczek striking a police officer multiple times in a hotel parking lot.
A threat to “blow up” the Chester County police station
Pennsylvania police officer opens fire on 21-year-old Dalton Lee Janiczek who is accused of striking an officer with his car multiple times, even when the officer was on the ground.
— michelle selaty (@michelle_selaty) October 27, 2025
Janiczek, the son of a prominent Pennsylvania lawyer.
"Janiczek accelerated directly at the… pic.twitter.com/1XUe2mC7i4
The sequence of events began when a sergeant from the Whitepain Township Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop of Janiczek’s Mercedes. Instead of pulling over, the driver fled at high speed, careened across a concrete median, and evaded the officer.
Reports state that police were initially alerted to the Mercedes G-Wagon because Janiczek had allegedly made threats to blow up a Chester County police station around the same time as the incident.
Shortly thereafter, a Plymouth Township officer located the vehicle in the parking lot of the Doubletree Guest Suites in Plymouth Township. When the officer activated his emergency lights, Janiczek is alleged to have reversed into the patrol vehicle several times, then accelerated directly at the officer, prompting the officer to fire his weapon.
Janiczek ignored the gunfire and hit the gas
Despite being shot at, Janiczek allegedly accelerated again, struck the officer while he was down, and circled back to hit him three more times. After fleeing the scene, Janiczek then crashed head-on into another Plymouth Township patrol car, injuring a second officer. Both officers were transported to the hospital; the first underwent emergency surgery and, as of the latest reports, both are in stable condition.
Police officers reportedly took Janiczek into custody, where he had a grazing wound to the head from the officer’s gunfire. They treated him at Abington Hospital before transporting him to the correctional facility. According to the criminal complaint, Janiczek also allegedly threatened officers after his arrest, telling them, “Put me in the car or I will kill you.”
Janiczek was arraigned on October 25 before Magisterial District Judge Thomas P. Murt, who denied bail. He remains held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. Reports mention that Janiczek had a history of driving-related citations, including careless driving, speeding, and driving an unregistered vehicle, and was stopped by police twice in the two days before his arrest.
