Party crasher steers SUV through crowd
An angry party crasher ran an SUV through a crowd Sunday afternoon, seriously injuring one after he became incensed when cake from the birthday party he was attending was thrown in his face.
The driver, Marco A. Ruiz, 26, is charged with two counts of reckless endangerment for the incident which left one of his friends, Julio D. Perez, 20, with two broken legs after he was struck by the 2001 Dodge Durango which Ruiz was driving.
“Mr. Perez suffered two seriously broken legs,” said Highway Patrolman Mike Tanner, noting the victim was airlifted to Erlanger Hospital, where he remains, by LifeForce helicopter from the scene. “At 45 miles per hour, bones are severed, so I’m figuring the truck was going over 40 miles per hour when it struck him in the legs around the knees.”
Tanner said Perez actually crashed the party along with Ruiz and the owner of the vehicle, Cecilio B. Garcia, 29, against whom charges are pending. The gathering was reportedly an anniversary and birthday party and involved over 20 people, including small children. The party was held at a residence on dead end Autumn Road near Morrison. It was during the party that cake was reportedly thrown in fun, with one piece hitting Ruiz in the face making him angry.
It was at that point, Ruiz went to his vehicle and began spinning out, prompting the host to warn him not to speed through the area given the fact children were present. Witnesses said the warning made Ruiz even more irate as the motorist went to the end of the road, got up a head of steam and came speeding back into the area, this time reportedly aiming the SUV toward people who were standing in and near the dead end road. Perez was struck on the first pass with the right front of the vehicle and a second man, who went to the injured man’s aid, was able to leap out of the way when Ruiz came back for a second pass.
Lawmen say Ruiz sped away and hid the vehicle near Circle View Trailer Court on South Chancery Street. He was taken into custody hours after the incident. Prosecutors say they expected to seek increased charges given the allegation he intentionally steered the vehicle into a crowd of people, leaving one man seriously injured.