New video has surfaced showing the disturbing actions of a woman who is seen deliberately running her car into others in a California parking lot on Thursday.
Witnesses say 33-year-old Aria Martin was in a black SUV when they heard a loud crash coming from an office building parking lot. When they looked outside, they saw the woman slamming into cars and nearly hitting pedestrians. Eleven cars were damaged in the melee.
“She was doing reverse, forward, reverse, forward, you know, so she kind of knew what she was doing,” witness Christina Patane explained to KKTV. “And then, she would see someone, and she would just hit it, go straight towards them.”
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies have charged Martin with driving under the influence of drugs, felony assault with a deadly weapon, felony vandalism and reckless driving.
Meanwhile, victims recall screaming in despair as they recorded the incident. One of them, Suha Sleibi, said she was almost struck by the suspect as she scrambled to get into a Honda she recently purchased.
“I did not think she was going to hit me, honestly. I thought by standing there, that was going to deter her. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, and she came charging at me and that’s when I jumped,” Sleibi said.
Sleibi’s vehicle is now in need of repairs in excess of $1,000. Another witness, Simon Wong, says his brand new Toyota has been severely damaged. After attempting to confront Martin, she flipped the middle finger at him.
“She made no sense. She floor[ed] her car,” Wong said. “She almost hit me, and I tried to make sense of what happened. My hand was bleeding.”
Martin eventually sped off but was captured moments later by California Highway Patrol. She is currently in jail being held on $25,000 bond.
