Worthington woman charged in Cottonwood County

Talk about it

WINDOM — A Worthington woman is facing charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and child endangerment after allegedly trying to run over her children’s father.

Authorities were called to a residence in the 1200 block of Mountain Lake Road in regards to a hit and run shortly before 6:30 p.m. Aug. 2.

An officer with the Mountain Lake Police Department spoke with the victim, who said his ex-girlfriend, Tania Torres Gonzales, 24, had called earlier to say she was going to drop their daughters off at his home.

The victim said he told the woman not to bring the girls over, but Gonzales pulled up in front of his house around 6:15 p.m. with the children, ages 3 and 1, in the car.

She exited the vehicle, he said, and they argued. Gonzales was very angry, he said.

She walked back to her vehicle and he was walking toward his house when he heard the engine rev.

He looked up to see the vehicle traveling toward him in reverse.

Gonzales turned the vehicle to jump the curb, grazing another vehicle parked in the street, and continued over the curb after the victim.

He told the officer he had to scramble out of the way to avoid being hit.

Afterward, Gonzales pulled back onto the street and headed west. A few minutes later, she returned and took her daughters out of the car, leaving them in the yard, the victim said, and got back in her vehicle.

She allegedly jammed the vehicle into reverse, squealed the tires and headed off in the opposite direction, the victim reported.

The officer noted where a vehicle had jumped the curb and made an arc in the grass, and located two spots where a vehicle had spun its tires in the grass.

A few minutes later, Gonzales’ car was stopped. The officer observed damage to the front left bumper. He also noticed there were no child car seats in the vehicle.

Bail was set at $5,000 without conditions or $1,500 with conditions, and a request for a public defender was granted.

Tags: cottonwood county, news, worthington, woman, charged