Apr 28, 2007 4:17 pm US/Eastern
Women Killed Outside Bucks Co. Restaurant
Struck And Killed By Car Driven By Her Boyfriend
by Valerie Levesque
NEWTOWN, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
A woman was struck and killed by a car driven by her boyfriend after the two had an argument outside a Bucks County restaurant, police said.
Authorities said Richard Patton, an attorney, was behind the wheel of the car that struck and killed 34-year-old Heather Demou at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant in Newtown Township.
Patton was a former assistant district attorney who also worked for the attorney general's office. He now runs his own private practice.
Police said Patton told them that it was an accident that happened after Demou stepped in front of his car to stop him from leaving the parking lot.
Patton spoke with CBS 3's Valerie Levesque about the fatal crash.
"I'm missing a part of me. What question do you want to ask me? Did I intentionally run her over? No," he said. "I was driving out of the parking lot, ok? That's all I was doing."
Family members of Demou said she received a phone call from Patton, which led her to leave the restaurant.
"We weren't arguing, we were disagreeing," Patton said.
Police gave Patton a portable breath test at the scene of the accident. The presence of alcohol was high enough for him to be taken into custody for a blood alcohol test, of which the results are still pending.
Demou, a 34-year-old real estate agent from Doylestown, leaves behind an 18-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter. Her family held a vigil outside of the restaurant Friday night.
"She was a wonderful person," said her mother, Linda Koutoulogenis.
Family members said the couple had been dating for about three months and fought often.
Patton, 51, of New Hope, has not been charged with any crime and police said an investigation was continuing. As many as 60 people saw what happened, Newtown Township police officer Daniel Bell said.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
