Wife runs over and kills husband when he leaves vehicle to look for dog, Florida cops say
A woman in Florida is accused of backing over her husband when he stepped out of the vehicle to look for their dog, police told news outlets.
A 70-year-old woman arrived back home with her husband in their vehicle on Oct. 20 following a dinner at Beef O’Brady’s in Palm Bay, according to a police report obtained by WOFL.
The woman was driving, and when she pulled into their driveway, they noticed their front gate was open, the outlet reported.
Thinking their dog, which had a history of escape, was on the loose, her husband stepped out of their SUV to go and look for it, according to the police report, as reported by WKMG.
While her husband looked on foot, the woman stayed in the SUV, backed out of the driveway and drove around the block looking for the dog, the outlet reported, citing police.
What the woman didn’t know was that her husband was standing behind the vehicle when she reversed, according to the police report obtained by WESH.
The woman drove around their block and then came back around to see her husband lying in the street, the outlet reported.
A person called police suspecting a hit-and-run when they saw the man in the street with a head wound, WKMG reported, and the husband was declared dead when officers and paramedics arrived.
Police told the outlet there was damage to the back of the woman’s SUV and her husband had injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle.
Officers talked with the wife and smelled alcohol on her breath, according to the police report obtained by WOFL, and she was asked to provide a breath sample.
Police said the woman had a blood alcohol content of 0.12, the outlet reported, almost two times the legal limit of 0.08.
The woman was taken into custody and charged with driving under the influence and driving under the influence manslaughter, according to a report shared with McClatchy News.
Palm Bay is about 75 miles southeast of Orlando.
This story was originally published October 24, 2023 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Wife runs over and kills husband when he leaves vehicle to look for dog, Florida cops say."
