A Georgia woman’s Sunday morning exercise routine allegedly turned into a desperate escape after a stranger tried to run her over three separate times, moments after she had simply greeted him.
The incident happened July 19 at the Sedgefield Apartments in Cobb County, where the woman was walking and working out when she encountered 21-year-old Jesse Allen Davis, according to a criminal warrant obtained by News Outlet.
Authorities said the woman did not know Davis, and their interaction was limited to what the warrant described as a “brief, polite greeting.”
Soon after, Davis allegedly climbed into his parked 2004 Nissan Sentra, started the vehicle and deliberately accelerated toward the woman, driving straight at her at a high rate of speed, the warrant states.
A second driver then pulled into Davis’ path, forcing him to stop before he could allegedly hit the woman, according to the warrant.
The woman ran toward her home, but Davis allegedly followed her in the car to the area of Commons Lane before steering toward her again in what authorities described as a second intentional attempt.
To avoid being struck, she ran onto a sidewalk and took cover behind a dumpster, the warrant said.
Jesse Allen Davis was arrested on felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor hit-and-run charges after the alleged July 19 incident in Marietta, Georgia. (Cobb County Sheriff’s Office)
But her alleged attacker kept coming.
While the woman remained hidden, Davis allegedly yelled profanities, maneuvered the vehicle and attempted to strike her a third time before fleeing the area, the warrant states.
“He got into a vehicle, and for whatever reason he attempted to strike her with the vehicle while she was in the parking lot,” Cobb County Police Sgt. Eric Smith told local outlet WSB-TV.
The woman called 911 while taking cover behind the dumpster, according to the outlet.
A Cobb County Sheriff’s Office vehicle in Georgia. Jesse Allen Davis was booked into the Cobb County Jail on felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor hit-and-run charges. (Cobb County Sheriff’s Office)
“He attempted to strike her with the vehicle two additional times,” Smith said.
Davis allegedly struck another vehicle as the incident unfolded, according to a separate criminal warrant obtained by News Outlet.
The warrant alleges Davis was driving a gray Nissan Sentra when he collided with a gray Ford Fusion and failed to immediately stop or return to the scene.
WSB-TV also reported that Davis eventually crashed into a pole.
Neighbor Lloydethan White said he witnessed part of the chaos and claimed Davis nearly hit him, too.
“When I had seen him, he almost hit my car and her,” White told WSB-TV.
White said he checked on the woman but did not initially realize what she had allegedly just endured.
“I think it’s wrong that a woman has to fear for her life and she’s just trying to go about her normal day and workout,” he said.
Davis was arrested and booked into the Cobb County Jail on felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor hit-and-run charges, with jail records listing a total bonding amount of $5,720.
The motive behind the alleged attack remains unclear. Police have not said whether Davis and the woman had any interaction beyond the seemingly innocuous greeting before he allegedly got behind the wheel.
