Inset: Dugblis Jimenez (Brevard County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The Wawa where an argument between Jimenez and her husband allegedly began in Cocoa, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida woman is behind bars after running her husband down with her vehicle and leaving him critically injured on a major thoroughfare, law enforcement in the Sunshine State allege.
Dugblis Rojas Jimenez, 43, stands accused of attempted murder in the second degree, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, and leaving the scene of a crash causing property damage, according to Brevard County court records.
On Tuesday, officers responded to reports of a man on the hood of a white sedan driving recklessly through the streets of Cocoa – a small town located roughly 45 miles southeast of Orlando.
Eventually, that sedan crashed at or near the intersection of West King and Pineapple Streets, according to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime. The man was thrown from the hood of the car and found “on the ground” and “bleeding from his head.”
He had been thrown 71 feet by the impact, police said.
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The incident began at a Wawa convenience store and gas station around the corner from the crash site, according to the arrest report. There, witnesses told police, they saw the man jump on the hood of the car and sit there following a “verbal altercation” with Jimenez.
“Witnesses stated the driver of the suspect vehicle was attempting to back out and leave the Wawa as the victim sat on the hood of the vehicle,” the arrest report reads. “Witnesses stated the sedan successfully left the Wawa with the victim on the hood of the vehicle.”
Surveillance footage would confirm those witness statements, according to police.
The footage appears to show, in succession, the man getting on the hood, the car driving a short distance from the air pumps to the gas pumps in the Wawa parking lot, the man getting off the hood briefly to walk near the front of the car, then the man getting back on the hood. Finally, the car leaves the parking lot – with the man on the hood.
“Witnesses on scene stated the vehicle drove at a rapid pace eastbound away from the Wawa with the victim on the hood of the vehicle,” the arrest report says. “Witnesses stated that the suspect vehicle made multiple sharp left and right maneuverers in an attempt to get the victim off of the hood of the vehicle.”
When those maneuverers failed to dislodge the man, Jimenez allegedly made a U-turn – right into the side of another car. This collision causes the man to fall from the hood, witnesses told law enforcement. But the adamant alleged victim gets back up, once more, and gets back on the hood, witnesses said.
Additional surveillance footage – culled from a nearby auto mechanic business and a pawn shop – offer some insight into the harrowing final moments of the encounter and crash, police say.
In these second and third pieces of footage, police describe the woman traveling westbound for a bit and changing lanes back and forth. During one “sharp” lane change, the man slides “across the hood” of the car “towards the passenger side and ultimately completely off,” according to the report.
“The suspect vehicle and victim then disappear from the surveillance footage behind trees,” the arrest report goes on. “As both the suspect vehicle and the victim continue to travel westbound, they come back into view with the victim sliding and rolling on the pavement and the suspect vehicle sliding uncontrol[led] with the driver’s side now facing west. Once this occurs, the victim is seen being run over by the front right wheel of the suspect vehicle. Both the suspect vehicle and the victim then travel out of view.”
The pawn shop’s footage cuts in to show the car “still sliding uncontrolled” and the man “still sliding and rolling away” from the car until they both stop in their final resting positions, police claim.
The woman, for her part, did not stop driving until she crashed into a curb and “traffic control device,” according to law enforcement.
While recounting the road-borne chaos in step-by-step detail, the police narrative offers less in terms of the woman’s alleged motive.
“While at Rockledge Regional Medical Center, the suspect was read her constitutional rights,” police wrote. “The suspect indicated that she wished to have a lawyer present to speak with detectives due to a language barrier. It should be noted that during this incident, the suspect made multiple claims that she was scared of the victim.”
The victim, meanwhile, was airlifted to Holmes Regional Medical Center – where he was listed in critical condition after being intubated and diagnosed with a brain bleed and skull fracture.
Police noted the victim and defendant are husband and wife.
Jimenez is being detained in the Brevard County Jail on $180,000 bond.
The defendant is likely to be placed on a detainer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, her attorney said during a hearing on Wednesday, according to Orlando-based Fox affiliate WOFL.
She is next slated to appear in court on Sept. 16.
