Husband runs over wife and drags her down hill as she tries to escape him, GA cops say
A west Georgia man is accused of running his wife over with a vehicle before dragging her down an embankment in a violent encounter that ended with him being shot by police, state investigators said.
The 32-year-old man is expected to face attempted murder and kidnapping charges in the Aug. 17 incident in LaGrange, according to a police news release. He will also be charged with aggravated assault.
LaGrange police contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation following the incident.
Officers arrived just before 11 a.m. after reports that a man with a weapon had forced his 42-year old wife into a vehicle at knife point, authorities said.
Police blocked them as the man tried to flee in an SUV with his wife still inside, according to the release. As officers tried negotiating with him, the husband got out of the vehicle. That’s when his wife tried to escape to safety through the passenger side door.
“(The man) went back into the SUV trying to grab and keep (his wife) inside,” investigators said. “As (she) ran toward the front of the SUV, (he) put the SUV in drive and turned and drove toward (her), running her over and dragging her under the car and down an embankment.”
Three officers fired shots at the SUV, and officers pulled the woman to safety after the vehicle crashed at the bottom of the hill, according to the GBI and LaGrange police.
At one point, officers said the man revved his engine at police as they continued to try and negotiate with him. He was told multiple times to turn off the engine and exit, but officers didn’t get a response.
“When officers approached the SUV, they determined (the man) had been shot,” the release reads.
Paramedics treated the husband and wife at the scene before they were taken to a hospital, authorities said. Both were later transferred to Piedmont Columbus Regional Medical Center for additional care.
The GBI has launched an independent investigation into the police shooting, after which the case will be turned over to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, the agency said.
LaGrange police is also conducting an administrative investigation into the incident.
LaGrange is about 50 miles north of Columbus.
If you are experiencing domestic violence and need someone to talk to, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support at 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
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