A Coon Rapids man allegedly accelerated his truck 36 feet and ran down his pregnant girlfriend May 15 in the parking lot of The Mermaid restaurant and bar in Mounds View.

Jordan Z. Knoff, 25, turned his truck in a tight circle and chased down the woman as she ran, struck her in the back, pulled up alongside her as she lay on the asphalt and sped away, according to charges filed recently.

The woman, 18, suffered a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain, and has regained consciousness. The fetus "appears healthy," charges said. Knoff is charged with first-degree and second-degree assault.

According to the complaint: Knoff and the woman, who is six to seven months pregnant, were arguing inside the truck for 10 to 15 minutes. The woman got out. Witnesses told police they heard a loud screeching as Knoff sped toward the woman and struck her, sending her flying through the air.

Officers responding to the scene found the woman bleeding, screaming and suffering from "major road rash" on her back from sliding on the pavement. Her head was bleeding, and she went quiet as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, signaling a possible brain injury.

A witness told police that Knoff pulled alongside the woman after he struck her and yelled at her one more time before he fled.

According to the complaint, Knoff sent the woman's mother a text message that read, "I not with her no more. Please tell her I am so sorry. I hope her and the baby are OK. I am on my way too jail."

Knoff was arrested on May 16, and police observed that his truck had a dent in the front hood with the imprint of a person's back and head and a small hand print in the dust, the complaint said.

He was convicted of terroristic threats in 2010 in a domestic abuse-related case.

chao xiong