A New York woman who works with victims of abuse after going through her own toxic marriage was critically injured after her ex-husband allegedly ran her over in front of their three children, authorities said.
Sophia Giraldo, 41, is hospitalized at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Queens after being struck by an SUV on Tuesday. A criminal complaint alleges that her husband, Stephen Giraldo, struck her with her vehicle and then stabbed her.
Her three young children, ages 11, 9 and 6, were in the van at the time but were not injured.
The complaint says the 11-year-old boy told authorities that he saw his mother walking on the sidewalk in front of the truck. Stephen Giraldo made a comment such as «keep your seat belt on» before driving the vehicle into Sophia, the boy said, according to the complaint.
the police told him NBC New York that Stephen Giraldo had allegedly waited in the vehicle outside Sophia’s Flushing apartment building.
Security footage, obtained by the news station, captured the horrifying incident and showed Sophia leaving her building around 5:15 a.m.
The images that were released do not show what happened next, but the criminal complaint alleges that Stephen Giraldo crawled out of the passenger-side window after the accident and stabbed Sophia. Police found a bloody knife near her body, the complaint says.
Sophia suffered brain damage, broken bones in her leg and a stab wound that punctured her liver. The New York City Police Department said she was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Stephen Giraldo was arraigned Wednesday on charges of attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. It is not clear if he has obtained a lawyer.
«The brutality of the attack, and the fact that it was committed in full view of the victim’s three young children, causes anguish and outrage in all of us,» Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release. on Wednesday. «My thoughts are with the children.»
Sophia ran a business helping women going through periods of abuse or trauma, according to her. website. She also hosted «The Unfiltered and Free Podcast with Sophia Giraldo.»