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Husband Tried To Get Wife Help Before She Went On Wild Car Rampage
A man in Costa Mesa who tried to get help for his wife before she nearly ran over several neighbors—and him—says he hopes she'll finally get the treatment she needs now that she's in jail.
Tim Montag told CBS 2 that he couldn't stop his wife of 25 years, Sandra, as she got behind the wheel of her Camry on Tuesday and tried to mow down neighbors. In the video he shot, which he shared with CBS, Sandra can be seen narrowly missing a man walking his dog, who has to jump off the sidewalk to safety.
"She went up and down the sidewalk," he told CBS. "She finally let me in the car," he said, but was unable to calm her down.
"My wife was having a hysterical breakdown. I screamed to anyone in the neighborhood call 911 and help," he said.
Montag said that the stress of caring for their two special needs children and her ailing mother-in-law was too much for his wife. She's also been taking care of him after he suffered a string of injuries and hasn't been able to work for the past five years.
"In the last six months I called 911, asked the police to assist me, to help my wife who was screaming in the middle of the street at all hours of the night, and they only wanted to press charges and not help her in her mental health," he told CBS. He didn't specify if he sought help through anyone besides the police.
He hopes that now that she's been arrested, his wife will finally get the mental healthcare she needs.
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She was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. She had previously tried to run over her husband with the same car, according to City News Service. It's not clear when the earlier incident occurred, except that it was within the last two weeks, according to CBS.
She was free on bail pending a court appearance on the earlier assault when she went on Tuesday's driving rampage. She is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, Costa Mesa police told CNS.
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