TEWKSBURY, Mass. — A man behind the wheel of an SUV drove across lawns in Tewksbury in an attempt to run women down following a reported house break-in on Monday night, authorities said.
Tommy Moges, 22, of Everett, was arrested on charges including breaking and entering, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60, assault with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, according to Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus.
Officers responding to a report of a breaking and entering at River Road in Tewksbury just before 7:30 p.m. spoke with a neighborhood resident who said that an unknown man had broke into his home and fled when confronted, Columbus said.
While still en route to the scene, officers learned that a man in a black Honda SUV was driving erratically close to where the alleged break-in was reported and that the vehicle had struck a woman in a nearby yard.
The suspect, who police later identified as Moges, attempted to run over the woman on Mount Joy Drive, driving through a yard in an attempt to strike her after fleeing the home on River Road, an investigation revealed.
That woman was able to get out of the way of Moges’ Honda, but he allegedly continued driving and hit another woman in the leg in the same yard.
Columbus said Moges struck a rock wall as it exited the yard and then fled to Everett, where Everett police arrested him at his home.
Surveillance video shared by the department showed Moges driving in circles on lawns and through bushes as he attempted to run the women over.
One woman heard a beeping horn and commotion in front of her parents’ home.
“Everything went crazy there was a lady jogging. She lives in the neighborhood and he was trying to hit her, said Laurie Brykman a neighbor.
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“Come across here and come to the door ringing the bell frantically,” said Winston Llewelyn who lives next door.
You can clearly see his face and with no answer, he hopped back into his SUV.
That’s when, police say, he chased the first woman. A neighbor saw it and ran out to help.
The video shows Moges chase them both and that’s when Louis Brykman tried to distract the driver.
“That’s when I went over toward there. Then he went after me,” said Louis Brykman who is also a neighbor.
Brykman says he was yelling the whole time.
“He went on the lawn all over this area and I fell and he went over there,” said Brykman.
Video then shows Moges drive toward the two women sideswiping one before hitting a wall and fleeing.
Police soon caught him at his Everett home. In court Tuesday he faced a judge and a slew of charges.
Neighbors are just relieved he’s in custody and off the streets.
“You reap what you sow. That’s how I see life. You reap what you sow,” said Llewelyn.
Moges was slated to face a judge on Tuesday in Lowell District Court.
An investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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