Fairview Police looking for man accused of throwing girlfriend from moving vehicle
Fairview Police are looking for a man who they say threw his girlfriend out of a moving vehicle on a highway, leaving her brain dead.
Victor Manuel Pereya, 21, is charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury or death, a second-degree felony. The charges stem from the incident on May 30. Police still don’t know his whereabouts, but believe the Mexico native is a flight risk.
“We’re asking the public if they have any information to come forward and contact the Fairview Police Department,” police officer Whitney Belcher said. “We’re just looking for his whereabouts so we can put him in custody.”
According to a probable cause warrant, Pereya was traveling northbound on 75 on May 30 with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Marisol Espitia. Several witnesses told police that Espitia “fell or was pushed” from the passenger side of the black SUV while the vehicle traveling at “highway speeds.”
Espitia’s family says she is brain dead. They’re donating her organs and taking her off of life support.
“It’s devastating,” Epsitia’s cousin Bertha Montelongo said. “It’s devastating for all of us. We’re upset about everything that is happening. She's so young to end this way.”
Pereya was supposed to come to the police department shortly after the incident to give a statement, but he never showed up. He did, however, admit to police that he left the scene without stopping to render aid. He did not say how or why Espitia fell out of the vehicle.
Espitia’s father said that his daughter was in an abusive relationship.
“What he did to my daughter can't be forgiven,” Victor Espitia said. “He's such a coward for running and leaving her there. We just want justice, that all we want.”
Pereya was arrested last year for beating a man who was dancing with Espitia at a night club. He was deported to Mexico after the arrest but somehow returned to the United States.