Martinez Police Officers, County Sheriff Deputies and ConFire personnel attend to three victims of a hit and run, at the intersection of Court and Main Streets in Martinez, Monday morning, November 7, 2016. Photo by Angrett Davies
Angrett Davies from Facebook.
By Allen Payton
In a post on Facebook, Monday evening, Antioch resident Angrett Davies shared how she narrowly escaped being hit by a woman who drove her car into her husband and two others, outside a family court house in Martinez, Monday morning. A short time later the woman jumped to her death from the Benicia Bridge.
“I praised the Lord for my life tonight,” Davies wrote. “This morning as I went to Martinez family court building, I started praying parts of Psalm 91 for no reason other than I felt the urge to pray. I kept speaking and praying these words as I drove.”
“When my appointment was over, 30 seconds after I crossed the street where the white van is located, the women (sic) waiting at that intersection to hurt her husband saw her husband in the intersection crossing and she hit the gas peddle to run him over,” Davies shared. “I was spared by 30 seconds. I was in the crosswalk she went through to hit him.”
“I cried and sang praises all the way home and cried more when I told my family,” she added. “I am so grateful to God and Jesus. Thank God those people were not killed.”
Davies, who was recently certified as a new chaplain in the county, then quoted verses 3-15 from the passage in the Bible in her Facebook post.
Emergency personnel treat the injuries of one of the hit and run victims. Photo by Angrett Davies
The woman apparently waited outside of the Family Court Center and drove her car into her estranged husband and two others, before later committing suicide by jumping off the Benicia Bridge.
According to a press release by Commander Eric Ghisletta of the Martinez Police Department, “at 10:33 a.m., Martinez Police Dispatch received a call of an injury accident at the intersection of Court St. and Main St. The reporting party advised the suspect had fled in a light blue vehicle.
Upon MPD arrival, several Contra Costa County Sheriff Deputies were already on scene rendering first aid to three injured subjects. In speaking with witnesses, it appears the suspect intentionally struck three pedestrians in the crosswalk and then fled the area. All three subjects were transported to local hospitals with moderate injuries.
It appears one of the victims left a family court hearing at the Family Law Center (751 Pine St.) just prior to the incident. He was accompanied by two friends and as they were crossing the street, the victim’s estranged wife accelerated her vehicle toward the three subjects in the crosswalk. The drive struck all three pedestrians then stopped the vehicle and reversed directions. She struck one of the victims a second time with her vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Approximately twenty minutes later, Benicia Police Department received a report of a female that appeared to have jumped from the Benicia Bridge. Martinez PD, Benicia PD, CHP and the United States Coast Guard responded to the area where they located a deceased female under the bridge. A vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle in the hit and run was located on the bridge in the area where the female had jumped.
Based on all indications, it appears the female who jumped from the bridge was also the driver of the vehicle who struck the pedestrians. Her name is being withheld until positive identification from the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office.
Investigation is ongoing.”
A call into Detective Miles Williamson who is investigating the case, received a response from Detective Craig Schnabel who said he had no updates, at this time. He has a call into the hospitals but has not heard back. He also stated that the woman’s name has not yet been released.
Please check back later for updates to this story.
