UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — The man who called 911 last year after seeing a man run over by a SUV says he couldn’t believe what he saw happen in front of him.
“A man was running down the road and a truck just ran him over on purpose,” the caller told the dispatcher. “The truck is sitting on top of him.”
On Aug. 23, 2015, in a residential area of Lanham, Maryland, Araceli Alvarez-Mendoza, 37, mowed down her husband, 36-year-old Fernando Fragoso-Duana, and pinned him under her SUV, killing him.
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe I just witnessed that,” said the caller, a man who had been driving behind Alvarez-Mendoza when it happened.
On Friday, a jury in Prince George’s County, Maryland, found Alvarez-Mendoza guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The 911 call was part of the evidence presented in the case.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said the jury was asked to return a verdict on more serious charges, including first- and second-degree murder.
“The jury in this case found the defendant to be a very sympathetic defendant,” Alsobrooks said.
Alsobrooks said the jury was apparently swayed by Alvarez-Medoza’s claims that she was the victim of domestic abuse, that she said she didn’t mean to hit her husband but had only meant to cut him off after he left their Lanham home following an argument that day.
She said the case illustrates why incidents of domestic violence should be reported.
“We encourage families to please come forward before it escalates to this to this point, please come forward and allow us to help you,” she said.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29. Alvarez-Medoza faces up to 10 years in prison.
The defense attorney did not offer a comment Monday.
Listen to a portion of the 911 call below:
