In a disturbing incident in Illinois, a man faces serious charges after his girlfriend sustained a severe head injury while attempting to escape from him. The wound, a deep cut on her forehead, was so extensive that it exposed her skull.

Thomas A. Welch, 31, has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery, and kidnapping. According to CBS affiliate WCIA, who reviewed the arrest affidavit, the Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office responded to a distress call around 1 a.m. on December 31. The call came after a woman, drenched in blood, sought help at a residence in Kirksville, claiming she had leapt from a moving vehicle to flee her boyfriend, Welch.

The woman recounted to deputies that an argument erupted between her and Welch while she was riding with him and another man, 33-year-old Cody Kimery, in the Mattoon area. The tension escalated when Welch allegedly threatened her life and stopped the car to strike her on the head with an object, causing severe bleeding.

Despite her desperate pleas to be released, Welch and Kimery reportedly refused to let her out of the vehicle, effectively trapping her inside as they drove around for about an hour. In a bid to escape, the victim bravely jumped from the car as it was moving at approximately 20 mph, eventually finding refuge at a nearby house.

After about an hour of driving, the victim reportedly jumped from the car as it traveled about 20 mph. She ran to a neighbor’s house.

“I see this girl walking out of the mist, coming out and walking in the mist,” neighbor Jeremiah Seaman told WCIA. “And she was covered head to toe in blood.”

Seaman called 911 and cops arrived to help the victim. She was taken to the hospital where she received staples to close the wound on her head, the affidavit reportedly said.

Deputies later tracked down Welch and his vehicle, which had a dashcam inside. It allegedly captured Welch and the other man forcing the woman to stay in the vehicle as she repeatedly begged to get out.

“I’m going to have to kill her bro,” Welch allegedly said to Kimery.

Kimery faces a charge of unlawful restraint.

Cops arrested Welch last week. He remains at the Moultrie County Jail without bond.