Florida woman runs over husband
Florida woman accused of running over husband in chaotic SR-520 incident
Cocoa police are accusing a woman of trying to murder her husband when she drove recklessly as he hung on to the hood of the car
COCOA, Fla. – A woman in Brevard County was arrested Tuesday after police said she ran over her husband during a violent confrontation on State Road 520, leaving him critically injured.
What we know:
Cocoa police arrested 43-year-old Dugblis Rojas Jimenez on Tuesday after a chaotic scene unfolded on SR 520 in Cocoa. Witness video captured Jimenez weaving in and out of traffic during rush hour while her husband, identified as Hemer Federico Ontiveros, was on top of the hood, hanging on for dear life. He was eventually thrown off the top of the car and was unconscious in the street.
Police say his wife ran over him and didn’t stop until she hit a pole nearby. The husband was still in critical condition on Wednesday at the hospital with a skull fracture and brain bleed after the incident.
A judge set the suspect’s bond at $180,000 on four charges, including: attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
An ICE hold may also be put on the suspect because her state-appointed attorney brought it up during her first appearance on Wednesday afternoon. The suspect wasn’t allowed to speak with her husband or return to the scene of the incident, which started in the Wawa parking lot on Fiske Boulevard and State Road 520 and ended near Pineapple Avenue and King Street.
Detectives used surveillance video from several businesses in the area to piece together what happened and find probable cause in the arrest. Cocoa police say she wasn’t in imminent danger and didn’t need to drive off with her husband on the hood.
What we don’t know:
Investigators have not said what sparked the confrontation between the couple or why Ontiveros ended up on the hood of the car. Police also have not determined whether Ontiveros could face any charges of his own in connection with the disturbance.
Authorities have not released further details about Jimenez’s immigration status, despite the judge noting that an ICE hold may be placed on her.
The backstory:
Cocoa Police said Jimenez and her husband have a history out of Chicago where Jiminez was charged with domestic violence twice earlier this year.
What they’re saying:
Cocoa detectives say the situation could have been a lot worse.
“The way that she was driving, at the time of the incident, she could have caused more damage. She could have hit other people on the road,” Paul Noland, who’s a detective with Cocoa Police.
One driver, Shacarra Pouncy, said it all seemed unreal.
“I literally just felt like I was in a movie scene,” she said.
Pouncy was stopped at a red light when she said Jimenez’s white Volkswagen slammed into her vehicle before speeding away.
“All of a sudden, I feel a ‘Bam!’ So, I put my car in park, and when I look up in my rearview mirror, I see a man standing outside the car, beating on the hood, and yelling at her in Spanish or something,” Pouncy explained. “She was looking crazy. So I’m thinking he’s upset that she hit me, and so I’m thinking they were going to get out of the car and check on me, but that wasn’t the case.”
Investigators said Jimenez crashed into a pole and the man had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital where he had to be intubated with a skull fracture and brain bleed.
“I went over to him, and he could just barely move his head, and he was moaning, but he wasn’t moving his arms or his legs,” Pouncy said.
What’s next:
Cocoa police are still investigating the circumstances that led up to the disturbance. The suspect’s next court date is set for Sep. 16.
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