Man charged in running over wife, lover

HART, Mich. (WOOD) - An Oceana County man accused of running over his estranged wife and her boyfriend with his truck, killing the wife, has been arraigned on charges in connection with the incident.

Julian Hernandez Zapata was charged Tuesday with one count of open murder and one count of attempted murder.

Zapata, 39, allegedly struck his estranged wife Andrea Garcia-Gonzalez and her new boyfriend Sabastian Rios-Guerrero with a farm truck as they stood near the intersection of 88th Avenue and Fox Road in Hart on Monday afternoon.

Garcia-Gonzalez and Zapata , who have four children together, were in the process of getting a divorce.

Police said Rios-Guerrero, who had been working at a nearby asparagus farm, called Garcia-Gonzalez and Zapata to meet him at the intersection. Why he called both of them is unclear. Garcia-Gonzalez arrived on the scene first and exited her vehicle to speak with Rios-Guerrero.

A witness, who asked to be identified only as Ricardo, saw coworker Rios-Guerrero walk toward the road where Garcia-Gonzales stood.

Then Zapata arrived and approached the couple at a high rate of speed.

"The last I saw was a truck coming through and hit one of my coworkers," said Ricardo. "Then I saw the truck turn back and and took out my coworker."

Zapata initially aimed his truck at Rios-Guerrero, according to the sheriff's department's investigation, but Garcia-Gonzalez got in the way.

"What we're led to believe is that he came there with the intent to harm the other gentleman," said Oceana County Sheriff's Department Lt. Craig Mast. "His wife got either tangled up or pushed into the way, but he struck them both."

Garcia-Gonzalez was dragged under the truck for several feet.

Zapata then allegedly turned the truck around, aimed at Rios-Guerrero again and struck him.

"I saw him when that truck hit him [Rios-Guerrero], when he turned around," said Ricardo. "He got out, walking back and forth."

Garcia-Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rios-Guerrero was airlifted to a Grand Rapids hospital in critical condition. As of Tuesday, he remained in critical condition and it was still uncertain whether or not he would survive.

Zapata , who appears to have no serious criminal record, admitted to investigators he had planned to run his romantic rival over.

"This appears to be an act of a jealous rage," said Mast.

At his Tuesday arraignment, a 78th District Court judge denied Zapata bond.

According to Mast, open murder carries a life in prison sentence and attempted murder can be sentenced by up to life in prison.