A woman who was trying to drive away from the scene of a verbal argument in Gillette ran over her boyfriend in the process early Saturday morning, police say.
Gillette Police Department officers were called at 1:07 a.m. Saturday to the 1900 block of Chestnut Circle in residential Gillette on a report that a 32-year-old man had been run over by a black SUV, GPD Deputy Chief Brent Wasson told Cowboy State Daily.
Officers arrived to find the black Chevrolet SUV still at the scene, a 32-year-old man on the ground and his ex-wife, age 30, also there with minor injuries, said Wasson.
The ex-wife had been arguing with the 32-year-old man’s 29-year-old girlfriend over a child custody matter. During the argument, the girlfriend, who’d been in the driver’s seat of the SUV, tried to drive away, Wasson said.
“The investigation reveals that when the 29-year-old woman attempted to drive away, she struck the 32-year-old male and the … ex-wife,” he said.
The girlfriend fled the scene on foot.
Authorities took the 32-year-old man to the hospital, then soon to an out-of-state hospital for critical injuries, said the deputy chief.
The ex-wife was evaluated on scene for minor injuries but not transported to the hospital.
Officers found the girlfriend a “short distance away from the scene,” and arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence, and the recommended charge of failing to report a crash or leaving a crash scene, said Wasson.
He declined to say the woman’s blood-alcohol concentration, citing a department policy against releasing test results.
The collision doesn’t look intentional at this juncture, though the matter remains under investigation, Wasson said.
“There is no preliminary indication she intended to strike anyone,” he said.
The girlfriend remained in jail as of Saturday afternoon, Wasson added.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
