Pair run down by car in Lynn attack

LYNN – A man and woman were run down as they walked along Union Street Tuesday morning, apparently in a jealous rage.The carnage left two bound for area hospitals and the driver in police custody.The incident occurred shortly after 10 a.m. in front of Caruso’s Pizza. Witnesses said the pair were walking when a late-model silver Toyota Corolla approached from behind, cutting them off. The driver allegedly jumped out, punched and kicked the woman until she fell to the sidewalk, then returned to the car and rammed them both into the brick wall of the pizza parlor.The driver, identified as Roberto Lopez, 33, of East Boston, was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He is scheduled for arraignment today in Lynn District Court on two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a motor vehicle, and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, shoes. Lynn Police Lt. William Sharpe said additional charges may be filed.The victims are Edwin Pineda, 28, of Somerville and Vilma Rosalez, 28, of East Boston.Sharpe said the case is considered an act of domestic violence because Lopez and Rosalez were once “involved.”Sharpe said the victims were crossing Union Street when Lopez struck them with his car. “The vehicle made an abrupt turn and struck the victims again on the sidewalk in front of Caruso’s Pizza,” he said.Witnesses confirmed as much.”I heard a boom and then all kinds of screaming and stuff,” said Aaron Falagan of Lynn who was hanging out on the street. “The guy who was on the sidewalk ran across the street and fell down. The other guy who was driving the car had gotten out and was chasing him. The girl on the sidewalk never got up. She looked hurt pretty bad.”According to Falagan, the driver punched and kicked the woman repeatedly before running her over with the small sedan. The woman’s bloody shoes lay on the sidewalk as paramedics treated the victims in waiting ambulances.Luis Alamar, who lives in an apartment in the building next to Caruso’s, said the driver punched the woman and then tried to drive over her and her companion. “She was underneath the car. The guy put it in reverse and got out like he was trying to see if she was dead or not,” Alamar said. “It was crazy.”Yessenia Alvarado of Lynn was at the nearby social security office, her car parked on the street directly across from Caruso’s. “I thought it was an accident. I thought some guy had hit the two people, but then he backed up,” she said.Alvarado said the driver exited the car and chased the male victim across the street. “He was hitting him,” she said. “Then he went back to the car. He yelled, ‘The baby is not here. The baby is at home.’ That’s exactly what he said,” Alvarado said, adding that by the time she called 911, police were already en route.Sam Daher of Melrose, a constable and private investigator, was seated in his car on Union Street, waiting for his boss who was getting dental work done at a neighborhood clinic. “I got out and flashed my badge at the guy who was trying to get back into his car,” he said. “It seemed like he was going to try and drive away, but me and my partner and another guy grabbed him and held him until the police came.”Daher and Alamar both said the driver had been following the pair as they walked along the sidewalk.Sharpe said both victims were listed in stable condition Tuesday afternoon.