A judge sentenced a Hammond man to 7 years Wednesday who admitted hitting his ex-fiancé with his truck, then taking off.
Erik A. Smith, 32, pleaded guilty Feb. 15 to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in catastrophic injury, a Level 4 felony.
He said he’s unsure if he will appeal. His sentencing under the deal was capped at 7 years.
He was originally charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, leaving the scene of an accident, and two counts of domestic battery, according to Lake Superior Court records.
The woman, who the Post-Tribune is not identifying, spoke on Smith’s behalf.
Her dad’s funeral was earlier that day, the woman said.
Her family disliked Smith. He got into an altercation days before with her sister when he was disrespecting their mom.
The woman said she had to tell Smith he wasn’t welcome 30 minutes before the funeral.
She and her family were drinking “excessively”. Her brother, who disliked Smith, called him to pick her up.
There was a potential for a fight, defense lawyer Robert Varga asked.
“Yes,” the woman responded.
As Smith backed up, he didn’t know the woman was there and accidentally hit her, Varga said.
“I got caught by the back wheel,” she said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Infinity Westberg countered that Smith was in a “position of trust”.
The woman had shoulder fractures, vertebral fractures, and broken ribs. When the victim first spoke with the prosecutor, she couldn’t dress herself.
Smith “consistently” violated a no contact order by making video calls to other people while the victim was there, Westberg said.
He had 18 prior law enforcement contacts, including domestic battery cases against his ex-wife.
“This is a pattern of conduct,” Westberg said.
About a week later, he gets charged with fleeing from police who are trying to arrest him.
Westberg asked for seven years.
Varga decried the prosecutor’s “overarching posture”.
“This was a car accident,” he said, not a battery, domestic battery or attempted murder case.
Smith was just banned from the dad’s funeral, “he’s upset”.
In an earlier hearing, Westberg compared it to another case with serious domestic battery allegations.
This was a “far cry”, Varga said.
Smith “failed” by taking off, probably afraid he would fail a breathalyzer, the lawyer said.
Smith apologized to the victim and her family, saying he was a “truly humbled man”.
“It was by far the worst decision I ever made,” he said.
Since then, he lost everything, including the relationship, custody of his kids from another relationship and his job, he said.
Judge Samuel Cappas said their relationship was “dysfunctional,” probably “abusive” and he clearly “manipulated” the woman into speaking on his behalf.
It’s like she had “Stockholm Syndrome,” he said.
Hobart police were called around 1 a.m. Nov. 2 to the 1600 block of East 34th Avenue, where they found a woman in the street crying and rolling in pain.
Witnesses said the woman had been arguing with Smith about 10 minutes earlier.
“You would get in the truck if you love me,” he said according to court documents.
He gunned the black Ford truck in reverse about 50 feet, then pulled forward, hitting the woman with his tire, the affidavit states. When Smith pulled up, the truck had its lights on and a broken back window, charges state.
Relatives said they and the woman had been drinking earlier when they heard a call with Smith that quickly turned heated, according to documents.
Another relative said Smith later said the woman dove in front of his truck and the police would not find him, the affidavit alleges.
The woman was taken to a local hospital, then transferred to Chicago with “multiple serious injuries.”
She told police she had been drinking earlier. She got into a fight with relatives over her dad’s funeral, left without shoes and called Smith “begging” him to pick her up.
They argued and she believed he would swerve and not hit her when he pulled forward, according to charges. He had never done anything like that before, she told officers. She and Smith were friends before they started dating two years ago.
The truck was later found parked near 32nd and LaPorte streets in Lake Station.
During the interview, she was “tearful” and “struggled” to talk, the affidavit states.
The woman was in extreme pain with injuries that included face swelling, side pain, back pain, headaches, cuts, spasms, muscle tenderness, trauma and spinal fractures.
She was in a neck brace in the hospital, breathing heavily with elevated blood pressure.
