Lansdale Police. Photo by James Short.
The defendant has been arrested on criminal offenses nine times across two counties since 2020, per court records.
A Montgomery Township man with an extensive criminal history is accused of running over a Lansdale man with his pickup truck in the yard of a West Seventh Street home, sending him to a trauma center with severe leg injuries.
Alexander Maxwell Handschu, 38, of the 1600 block of North Line Street, was charged by Lansdale Police with aggravated assault and misdemeanor attempted simple assault and recklessly endangering another person for the incident that occurred at 12:12 p.m. Oct. 30 on the 300 block of West Seventh Street, police said.
Authorities said they were advised by Montgomery County emergency dispatch that a man was on the line saying someone hit him with a white Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and fled westbound on West Seventh Street toward North Cannon Avenue.
On the scene, police met with the victim, who told them he was sitting in the middle of the yard on a couch, eating food, when Handschu, whom he knew as “Alex,” approached him and began to yell at him, per the affidavit.
“I know you,” Handschu allegedly said to the victim. “You have trouble with the law! You are on those psychotropic drugs!”
Police said Handschu then got into his pickup truck and drove it directly at the victim. He missed the man, and attempted to punch him out the driver’s side window, police said.
After a brief exchange of words, Handschu allegedly backed up and ran over the victim’s leg, injuring his toes, foot, and lower leg. A neighbor ran out to yell for Handschu to stop, but he continued to back up the truck and hit a van parked in the rear of the property, police said.
Handschu accelerated forward again, driving through the front yard and running over and destroying items, police said. He then fled westbound on West Seventh Street, per the complaint.
Police said the entire incident was captured on home surveillance video.
Handschu remains at Montgomery County jail on $99,077 cash bail, which includes a parole/probation detainer, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20 at 1:30 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine.
According to Pennsylvania court records, Handschu has been criminally charged nine separate times since June 2020, which includes one active criminal case at the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas from an August 2024 arrest.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
