Aaliyah Ross, a 27-year-old from Lake Wales, Florida, was arrested for child abuse and domestic battery after allegedly running over her husband and their 16-month-old son with her car.
The event, which occurred on June 25, allegedly stemmed from a heated argument between Ross and her 25-year-old husband, Devin. A Polk County briefing revealed the two argued inside their home before Devin walked outside to “calm down.” Ross became enraged after Devin eventually threw a cinder block on her vehicle.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported that as tensions escalated, Ross placed two other children, aged four years and six months, into her Toyota Corolla. When Devin attempted to flee with their toddler, Ross allegedly accelerated directly towards them, causing severe injuries before crashing into a neighbor’s home. Ross later returned to the scene, placing the injured infant inside their unoccupied house and denying Devin’s pleas to seek medical attention for the baby. She then abandoned the boy
, leaving him alone inside the house as she left the residence.During questioning, Ross revealed a history of threatening behavior, admitting that on several accounts, she has acted as if she was going to run her husband over. She told a detective that she would swerve at the last second and claimed she expected Devin to move, as he had in previous instances. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd condemned Ross’s actions: “Aaliyah Ross made a series
of incredibly unthinkable choices Monday: running over a man and a baby with a car, leaving the baby alone, and failing to get medical treatment for the obviously injured baby. Someone who does this to a baby will do this to anyone—her uncontrollable rage is a threat to the public.”While Devin was treated and released for bruising to his body and lungs, the toddler remains hospitalized with multiple serious injuries, including broken bones and a partially collapsed lung. The Florida Department of Children and Families is now involved in determining custody arrangements for all the children.
Ross faces multiple charges, including aggravated child abuse, aggravated battery-domestic, negligent child abuse, battery-domestic, and Leaving the Scene of a Crash with Property Damage.
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