Woman convicted of murder after driving over her fiance in a "game of chicken" and dragging him 500 feet, U.K. police say
A woman was convicted of murder on Tuesday after allegedly driving over her fiance and dragging him 500 feet under her vehicle, British police said in a news release.
Alice Wood, 23, fatally struck Ryan Watson, 24, in what witnesses called a "game of chicken," after the couple had an argument while attending a charity party in May 2022, Cheshire Police said. Wood had accused Watson of flirting with another woman at the party, the BBC reported.
"Wood used her vehicle as a weapon, while under the influence of alcohol, deliberately driving at him and even continuing to drive after knocking him down," Detective Inspector Nigel Parr said in a statement. "She knew what she had done, but since then has refused to take accountability for her actions."
Wood denied the accusation and said that her fiance's death had been a "tragic accident," the BBC reported.
Surveillance footage released by police showed Wood repeatedly driving the car at Watson until he was caught underneath the hood of the car.
The pair had attended a party on the evening of May 6, 2022, and were seen on video footage talking, and drinking alcohol, police said. Wood had driven Watson's car home from the party around 11 p.m. that evening and once they arrived at his house they both exited the car, police said.
After she got behind the wheel of her car Ford Fiesta, police reported that witnesses said they then heard "shouting, doors slamming, and a car engine revving." Surveillance footage shows the car approaching Watson twice until he is dragged underneath the vehicle.
When Wood stopped driving, police said she told a nearby resident: "Please phone an ambulance, I think I've run over my boyfriend." Watson was declared dead by emergency medical services at the scene.
Wood failed a breathalyzer test, police said, and upon her arrest she allegedly told officers, "It's fine, I deserve it."
In a statement read in court, Watson's family said "we finally got justice for our beloved son Ryan."
"No sentence is going to be long enough for what she has taken from us and Ryan, he'll never get to live his life and fulfill his dreams," the family said.
Wood is due to be sentenced Jan. 29.
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Cara Tabachnick is a news editor and journalist at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]
