INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — An Indian River County woman was arrested early Saturday morning after running her boyfriend over with a car, according to authorities.
The victim said he was attempting to remove the couple’s infant from the backseat of the vehicle at the time of the incident, because he believed his girlfriend was trying to drive while intoxicated.
Tracie Poehler, 34, of 2075 80th Avenue, Vero Beach, now faces one felony charge of aggravated battery domestic violence.
The incident began when Poehler arrived home with their child and began arguing with her boyfriend in the driveway. The argument was about neighbors being at the house, according to the arrest report.
The victim believed Poehler had been drinking and was going to try to drive away with the baby still in the back seat, he told investigators.
As the victim was attempting to remove the infant, Poehler began revving the engine. She screamed at the victim, hit him repeatedly with an open hand, and then put the vehicle in reverse while the victim was still standing at the door attending to the child, the report shows.
Poehler accelerated with the car in reverse, and struck the victim with the open car door causing him to fall to the ground. She proceeded to run over the victim with the front right tire of the vehicle, the arrest report states.
The victim refused medical treatment but complained of pain on the left side of his body, according to the report. Two witnesses corroborated the victim’s account of the incident.
Poehler told authorities she did put the vehicle in reverse while the victim was trying to remove the infant from the car, but she accidentally popped the clutch and the vehicle rolled backwards. She said she did not intentionally cause him to fall, according to the arrest affidavit.
There was no report of injury or harm caused to the child.
