Ex-boyfriend charged with murder after woman repeatedly run over by truck in SE Houston

Several others injured in incident

HOUSTON – A woman's ex-boyfriend is facing charges of murder and three counts of aggravated assault after he ran her and several other people over with a pickup truck early Sunday morning in southeast Houston, police said.

Officials said Rigoberto Alexander Escobar, 35, saw his ex-girlfriend, Dixa Rios, 38, crossing the street toward Jojo's Club in the 10200 block of  Telephone Road around 2:15 a.m. Sunday, when he revved the engine of his 2004 Ford F-150 and ran her and three other people over, backed up the truck and hit them again, striking them at least three times before leaving the scene.

Rios was pronounced dead at the scene. 

“I was there when they lifted her body. It was very difficult, very difficult what he did,” said Elena Garza, the victim’s sister-in-law. 

Adan Salgado, 36, Celso Velasquez, 32, and Maneesh Roberts, 46  were taken to hospitals with possible broken bones in their legs and chest. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Rios' family said she leaves behind four children, ages 13, 16, 18 and 20.

“I am very sad because she was all about her family,” Garza said. 

Family members said she and Escobar had been together for roughly five years, but were no longer in a relationship.

“A month ago he hit her and she filed a police report to get a restraining order. She left their apartment and went somewhere else to live because she did not want any problems,” Garza said.

Escobar was was arrested about 40 minutes after the crash on an unrelated DWI charge, police said. During an interview with police, Escobar confessed to intentionally running over Rios multiple times with his truck, investigators said.

Police said they found the F-150 used in the incident and they were processing it for evidence.  

The family is having difficulty covering the cost of sending Rios’ body back to Honduras and set up a GoFundMe account to help cover those costs. 

If you’d like to donate, click link here.


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