LORAIN — A 22-year-old Lorain woman contacted police last night to report a man tried to rape her.

Krogg

The woman, who said she is homeless and lives with her boyfriend in a “tent city” in woods behind 2001 Elyria Ave., said a man she knows only as “Donnie” approached her yesterday morning after her boyfriend left for work.

Police wound up arresting Donald Krogg, 33, a homeless Lorain man. He faces an attempted rape charge.

The woman said Krogg approached her with his genitalia out, pushed her down in a chair, held her down and made demands that she have sex with him.

When she refused, a struggle ensued, according a police report, and he punched her in the stomach and tried to take her clothes off, fondling her between her legs at one point during the struggle.

The woman, who is pregnant, was concerned due to the blow to her stomach, the report said.

She was able to get away from the man and spent the rest of the day at the Gathering Hope House, the report said. When her boyfriend returned home from work he became upset, confronted Krogg and called police.

According to the report, once confronted, Krogg told the woman’s boyfriend, “Yeah, I tried to rape her. She’s the only girl out here in these woods and if that’s the only way I’m going to get some (expletive) then I’ll rape her.”

LifeCare was called to assist the woman. It was unclear if she was taken to a hospital.

Police who went to the “tent city” located Krogg. Upon ordering him out of his tent, he state “I knew (the woman) would send them down here to get me.”

Krogg told police he is a registered sex offender. Police confirmed he had prior convictions for sexual assault and gross sexual imposition. He was taken to the Lorain City Jail.

GRAFTON TWP. — A Cleveland man was Life Flighted overnight after he crashed his motorcycle on state Route 57, according to Sgt. R. Cross of the State Highway Patrol.

Cross said Matthew Brauer, 35, was northbound on 57 near Mennell Road, just south of the village of Grafton, about 11:40 last night when he failed to negotiate a curve. He drove off the right side of the road, overturned and was ejected from his bike, a 2000 Harley-Davidson.

He was taken by helicopter from at or near the scene to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. A MetroHealth spokeswoman said she didn’t have any information on him.

Check back at Chroniclet.com for more on this story as it becomes available.

ELYRIA — Rescue squads responded to a three-vehicle accident on East Avenue in front of The Chronicle that sent two people to the hospital on stretchers.

The crash, a little after 9 this morning, appeared to be a chain-reaction rear-ending. It involved a white Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, a beige Chevrolet Avalanche pickup and a white Cadillac DeVille.

The drivers of the Dodge and the Cadillac, both men, had to be removed from their vehicles by rescue squads. The driver of the Dodge could be seen holding his neck. The driver of the Chevrolet pickup, also a man, was unhurt.

The Cadillac sustained heavy damage, and the Dodge and Chevy both had moderate damage.

Several lanes of East Avenue were closed for a time.

ELYRIA — An Elyria man is facing drug charges after police responded to a report of shots fired on Melvyn Lane overnight.

Darryl Pruitt, 26, has been charged with trafficking in marijuana and possession of criminal tools.

Police were called to 1008 Melvyn Lane a little before 10 p.m. and met with a neighbor who said someone had shot at the residence next to hers.

According to a police report, the front door had been kicked open, and there was a bullet hole in the door.

Officers who entered the home found two bags of marijuana and a scale at the end of a living room couch and also noticed numerous bullet holes in a mirror nearby and a fired bullet on the floor. They also found two $20 bills at the top of a landing and a torn screen where it appeared someone had jumped through a bedroom window.

No one was in the home, so they continued taking photos for evidence, eventually finding another fired bullet outside.

The neighbor who had called police told them she heard the gunshots being fired and then heard voices and looked outside to see individuals running but could not see their faces.

While officers investigated, Pruitt and a woman came to the home.

Pruitt, who was limping, told officers he heard yelling outside and opened the door to an individual yelling and pointing, asking “Is that him?” Pruitt said he closed the door, fled upstairs and jumped out an upstairs window when he heard the door being kicked in.

Pruitt told police that prior to the incident and individual had told him he was going to find him and shoot him.

When asked about the drugs found in the home, Pruitt did not admit they were his but responded “What’s the deal with smoking a little?” according to the report.

Pruitt refused to give officers the name of the person he said had shot at him.