Police in Connecticut have arrested a Pennsylvania man accused of trying to run his stepchildren down in a car and smashing the windows of his estranged wife’s SUV.
Police said Hollis Ross, 58, of Collegeville, Pa., is accused of racing a late-model Lexus sedan across several lawns on Sunday afternoon and hitting his estranged wife’s late-model Lexus SUV, which was parked in the driveway on Casement Street in Darien, Conn.
Ross' adult stepdaughters were standing by the car at the time and police said information obtained at the scene supported the allegation that Ross was attempting to intentionally hit the women, police said.
The women narrowly escaped by diving into bushes and other landscaping along the driveway.
After the crash, Ross got out of his vehicle, holding a yellow framing hammer, and smashed the window of his estranged wife’s SUV, police said.
The stepdaughters ran into the house and locked the door while another family member called 911, police said.
Police responded to the report of a domestic violence incident at 1:16 p.m. and found that both vehicles were heavily damaged.
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When officers arrived, Ross surrendered and admitted to officers that he had been drinking alcohol, police said. He was given field sobriety tests and did not pass.
Police said the State of Pennsylvania issued a protective order prohibiting any contact between Ross and his estranged wife.
As of Sunday night, Ross was being held at the Darien Police Department under a $500,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Stamford Superior Court on Monday.
Police said Ross also endangered a pedestrian who had been walking in the area.
Ross was charged with two counts of criminal attempt at manslaughter in the first degree, violation of out of state protective order, reckless endangerment in the first degree, criminal mischief in the first degree, operating under the influence of liquor/drug, or both and breach of peace.
