Police said suspect jumped on vehicle, assaulted driver and fled from officers at Montgomery Township restaurant on Welsh Road
All felony and misdemeanor charges lodged against a Hatfield Township man for allegedly robbing and assaulting a woman in a McDonald's parking lot before fleeing from officers were held for Montgomery County Common Pleas Court at a preliminary hearing last week. .
Elijah Maurice Wright, 19, of the 2600 block of Elroy Road, is charged with felony counts of robbery, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property, as well as misdemeanor counts of simple assault, unauthorized use of a car, unlawful restraint with serious bodily injury, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, and recklessly endangering another person, according to court records.
Wright was charged in connection with an incident reported around 8:34 p.m. March 10, 2026 in the parking lot of the McDonald’s at 1200 Welsh Road in Montgomery Township.
Police said the victim told officers they were in the drive-thru line when Wright jumped onto the hood of their blue Mazda CX-5 and approached the driver’s side window, telling the driver to move multiple times.
Wright then entered the vehicle through the front passenger seat and allegedly began punching the victim in the face and body as they drove out of the lot onto westbound Welsh Road.
The victim told police they tried to get Wright to stop and allow them to leave the vehicle. The victim later jumped out of the moving car and ran to 458 E. Main Street to seek help while calling 911, police said. Officers noted the woman showed visible injuries to her eyes, forehead and neck, police said.
Responding officers searched for the vehicle and briefly observed it traveling at a high rate of speed, allegedly driven by Wright, on Hancock Road near South Broad Street. According to the complaint, Wright turned off the vehicle’s lights and accelerated in an attempt to evade police, and officers eventually lost sight of the car.
Using the victim’s phone location data, police later identified an address in the 300 block of Delaware Avenue, between South Richardson and Susquehanna avenues, where Wright was found hiding under a bed in an upstairs bedroom, according to investigators.
Officers recovered the vehicle keys and the victim’s iPhone at the residence. The vehicle was later located at 314 Allen Way, police said, off Jackson Street, at the end of a cul-de-sac that backs up to woods, and impounded as evidence.
Wright remains jailed on $49,077 cash bail, which includes a probation detainer. Formal arraignment is May 6. Wright is represented by public defender Jonathan Melena.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
