‘A TRAGEDY’

New York Driver Jason Mendez Accused of Purposefully Running Over Family of Eight, Killing Mom

Man reportedly became angered after being asked not to blow cigarette smoke near the children.

An angry New York state driver intentionally ran over a family of eight—including an infant in a stroller—leaving the pregnant mom dead, officials in Rockland County said. Jason Mendez, 35, is accused of purposefully driving into the two adults and six children Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Haverstraw. Investigators say Mendez was infuriated following some kind of argument—possibly stemming from the husband asking Mendez not to blow cigarette smoke near the children. After he drove into the family, police say he backed up and hit them again. When cops arrived, the man was allegedly holding a knife and, after refusing to drop it, was tasered. The family was rushed to nearby hospitals. The mother—later named on a GoFundMe page as Melissa Castillo DeLoatch—was pronounced dead while her 35-year-old husband and their six children, all under the age of 10, sustained non-life threatening injuries. Mendez was charged with second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder.