Police: Fort Worth driver tried to run over panhandler

A 27-year-old man is facing a felony assault charge, accused of trying to run over an “aggressive panhandler” with his van near a bar off Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth, a police spokesman said.

Ryan Keoughan was arrested early Tuesday, accused of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Sgt. Marc Povero said.

Police responded about 12:48 a.m. to a disturbance at 961 Magnolia, near the Chimera Brewing Company and Upper 90 bar, according to an incident report.

Officers found a crowd of people “arguing and yelling at each other” in a parking lot, an arrest warrant affidavit states.

A witness told officers she saw Keoughan and the victim, a 39-year-old man, shouting at each other in the parking lot.

At some point, according to the witness, Keoughan got into his white 2003 Dodge van and began backing up. The victim then began to walk in front of Keoughan’s van and yelled at him, the witness told police.

Keoughan put the van back into drive and “charged” at the man, who jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit, according to the affidavit.

The victim “thought he was going to get hit with the vehicle and was in fear of his life,” the affidavit states.

Keoughan was later released on bail from the Mansfield Jail.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Police: Fort Worth driver tried to run over panhandler."