A truck driver was convicted of aggravated assault on Thursday after running over his wife with a semi truck during an argument regarding infidelity.
Truck driver Walter Gabriel was convicted of aggravated assault, injury by vehicle, and hit and run on Thursday, December 7th for an incident that occurred in September of 2015 in Marietta, Georgia.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, at approximately 2:00 a.m. on September 25th, 2015, Gabriel and his wife began arguing about Gabriel’s infidelity at an Extended Stay hotel on Powers Ferry Road.
Court documents state that Gabriel’s wife had discovered photos of her husband’s alleged mistress and shared them on Facebook.
As the argument escalated, Gabriel got into his truck to leave, but his wife, who has multiple sclerosis, followed him to his truck. Gabriel locked the doors and refused to let her in, so his wife walked to the front of the cab, where she says she “begged” him to open the door, but he refused.
Gabriel’s wife claims that he then made eye contact with her before running her over with the big rig.
“She testified that they made eye contact before he put the truck in gear and accelerated toward her… unable to get out of the way due to her disability,” said the District Attorney’s office.
Gabriel then drove away, leaving his wife with a broken femur, fibula, left foot, and two broken ribs, for which she had to undergo two surgeries.
Gabriel’s wife told investigators that she thought he was just trying to scare her, as he had done before, by simply tapping her with the semi truck, but that this time she fell on her side, resulting in the multiple broken bones.
“Mr. Gabriel has never apologized for hitting his wife with his vehicle,” said prosecutor Jared Parrish.
“He never visited her in the hospital. His actions were malicious. He knew what he’d done.”
A sentencing date has not yet been set, but 56 year old Walter Gabriel currently faces up to 170 years in prison.
