Investigators said a Whitaker man tried to drown his foster mother in a toilet before stabbing her in the neck multiple times, stealing her SUV and leading police on a high speed chase last week.

State police charged 18-year-old Elrades Wright with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, theft and other offenses in the incident that occurred early Friday.

Police responded about 1 a.m. to the 100 block of Frank Street in Whitaker after receiving a report that a 64-year-old woman had been stabbed in the neck.

The woman told police that she had been attacked by her foster son, Mr. Wright, who had been staying with her.

She said that Mr. Wright tried to drown her by holding her head in a toilet, strangled her and stabbed her in the neck several times before taking her SUV and leaving.

A police officer spotted Mr. Wright driving the SUV at a high rate of speed along East Eighth Avenue and tried to get him to stop, but he kept moving.

A high-speed chase ensued with officers from multiple agencies following Mr. Wright, who eventually crashed in the 400 block of School Street in West Mifflin, according to police.

Mr. Wright jumped out of the SUV and tried to run away but was quickly captured, police said. In the vehicle, police said they found two knives and a girl, whom they did not identify. 

Mr. Wright was taken to the Allegheny County Jail and denied bond. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 16.

The woman, who was critically injured, was taken to UPMC Mercy for emergency surgery, according to a police affidavit. The woman suffered “significant vascular damage,” the affidavit said.

First Published: June 5, 2022, 2:53 p.m.