Pa. probing death of woman struck by lover's car

State authorities have taken over the investigation into the death of a woman who was struck and killed by a car in Newtown, Bucks County, last week after an argument with her boyfriend, a former prosecutor.

Richard Patton, 51, of New Hope, previously worked as an assistant prosecutor in Bucks County and in the state attorney general's office.

Patton was driving the vehicle that struck Heather Demou after the two had argued Thursday outside a Newtown restaurant, police said.

According to police, Patton told them Demou had stepped in front of the car to stop him from leaving. Toxicology and other tests are pending, and he has not been charged, authorities said.

The attorney general's office took over the case from local authorities because of Patton's prior work in the Bucks County D.A.'s office. The state office can handle the probe because Patton worked there under a different administration, Bucks D.A. Diane Gibbons said.

Demou, 34, a real-estate agent from Doylestown, is survived by two teenagers. *