MUNCIE, Ind. – A Muncie man was arrested after he reportedly drove over his estranged wife after an argument.
Court documents said officers were dispatched to North Wheeling and West Harvard Avenue on Nov. 20 to a car-pedestrian accident.
A woman was reportedly lying in the roadway.
When officers arrived, they encountered 47-year-old Michael J. Shackelford who was standing next to a Hyundai Sonata while the woman was lying on her side.
Shackelford told police that he and his wife had been arguing earlier that day. When the woman left, Shackleford added that her phone was dead so he went to find her.
Investigators said Shackleford thought the woman was behind a “church sign.”
Shackleford said that while he was looking for his wife, she ran out in front of him and he “did not see her until it was [too] late.”
According to the probable cause, officers were then made aware that there was no contact order for the woman, in which she was the protected party.
Officers were later able to speak with her at the hospital. She told police that she was struck by a car and thought that it was her husband but wasn’t sure.
The woman said the two had been hanging out a little before. Then, they began arguing so she left the home and began walking down the road.
She told investigators that’s when she saw a vehicle coming straight at her. The woman added, “Swear I could hear him crying and screaming.”
Shackleford reportedly did nothing to try and stop from hitting her.
He was preliminarily charged with aggravated battery, Level 3 felony; domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon, Level 5 felony; and invasion of privacy, Class A misdemeanor.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on Nov. 21.
No initial hearing has been set.
