A New Jersey man has been charged with attempted murder after running over a woman during a road rage attack.
According to news reports, Vincent Jean of Elizabeth collided with the unnamed woman in a minor traffic accident before pursuing her with his vehicle. Police and prosecutors said he allegedly drove over the victim multiple times after she took pictures of his car.
A neighbor’s surveillance camera footage revealed a vehicle backing up and chasing the 23-year-old woman onto the front lawn of a house in a residential block in Elizabeth on Apr. 14. As a result, she slipped and fell in before he ran her over.
Neighbors told News 4 that the driver crashed into the victim’s car at the intersection after backing up on Salem Avenue to avoid traffic at a light during rush hour. Then, he began following her.
Prosecutors added that he turned around, ran into the victim twice, and drove off, leaving her injured on the ground.
“He ran over her. Ran over her again, three times,” a witness, identified as simply Isaac, said. “How could you do a thing like this? It was a fender bender, that’s all.”
Other witnesses said that immediately after she was hit the first time, a school bus appeared and blocked the driver.
Shortly after the incident, Isaac and his wife rushed to help the woman while neighbors called 911.
“As my wife put a blanket on her to keep her warm — it was raining, and the grass was wet — she told my wife, ‘thank you,'” he said.
The victim was taken to University Hospital and is in critical condition.
Officers said they found Vincent sitting in his damaged Mitsubishi SUV just a few miles from the scene a few hours later. He was not only charged with attempted murder but also aggravated assault and other crimes.
The 56-year-old man went to court and has been held in Union County Jail awaiting his pretrial detention hearing. It is scheduled for Apr. 19. Officials from the prosecutor’s office reportedly said he didn’t have an attorney listed.
The victim’s parents released a statement on Apr. 14, expressing how disturbed they were about what happened to their daughter.
“What this man did to our daughter was atrocious, and no parent, child or any human being should ever have to endure this,” they wrote. “We want to be clear that this was not the result of any domestic dispute. This man was a complete stranger who committed a heinous act of road rage and attempted to kill our daughter simply because she was trying to get necessary information to lawfully report an accident while he was fleeing the scene. Although we are heartbroken and deeply saddened by what happened, we are thankful that our daughter is alive.”
If convicted, Vincent could face up to 20 years in prison. However, Union County Jail’s website inserted that criminal charges were merely accusations and, as such, defendants would be considered innocent until proven otherwise.
