Lynn teacher charged in attack

LYNN – A judge ordered a Lynn elementary school teacher held without bail Wednesday after police said the woman ran over her estranged husband’s new girlfriend and then fled the scene.”(The alleged victim) told Officer (Brian) Wilson and me that the vehicle came from the direction of Forest Avenue, crossed over the opposite lane of travel, came up onto the sidewalk in front of the (husband’s) house and, after striking her, drove off,” Swampscott Officer Brendan Reen wrote in a police report.Kimberly A. English, 49, of 40 Hillside Ave., Swampscott, was arrested and charged with violation of an abuse-prevention order; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; armed assault with attempt to murder; leaving the scene of personal injury; reckless operation of a motor vehicle; speeding and a marked-lanes violation at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday.English was arraigned on the charges Wednesday morning in Lynn District Court where a plea of not guilty was entered on her behalf.Superintendent of Schools Catherine Latham said English is a special-education teacher at the elementary level and has been employed by Lynn Public Schools since 2005. Public records show English earned $61,681 in 2012. English has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the criminal investigation, according to Latham.”I am obviously concerned by these charges and will be prepared to take further action if and when it is appropriate,” Latham said Wednesday in a statement to The Daily Item.Swampscott Police responded to 17 Magnolia Road at approximately 7:24 p.m. Tuesday and found the alleged victim lying with her legs on the sidewalk and her head and torso in the gutter, Assistant District Attorney Erin Bellavia told the courtroom.Reen reported the alleged victim appeared to have a serious injury to her leg and was “in obvious” and “excruciating” pain while being treated at the scene. She was taken for treatment at a local hospital.Carl Schroeder – the defendant’s estranged husband and who Bellavia said is dating the alleged victim – told police that he and his children, whom he had with English, were unpacking groceries inside the Magnolia Road home when they heard the alleged victim screaming for help, according to the police report.A neighbor reported hearing a revving engine and then screams, and one of the children said he saw a dark tall car drive from the sidewalk onto the road, Bellavia told the court.Schroeder told police he had an active restraining order against English on behalf of the children. He said the couple had been separated for four years and are divorcing.Schroeder said Wednesday morning the car appeared to be driven deliberately “to strike my friend.”Bellavia told the court that the former couple’s 8-year-old child told police that English had previously said she hoped “[the alleged victim] dies.”Police noted fresh damage to the front end of English’s 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan when they interviewed her about the incident, Bellavia said.English told police she had been in a motor-vehicle accident in Revere, but police found the car had damage “consistent with a car striking a person or soft object,” Bellavia reported.Court-appointed Defense Attorney Elena Rosnov told the court her client stipulated to probable cause for a dangerousness hearing. Rosnov requested the hearing be postponed so the public defender’s office could prepare. English did not speak during the arraignment and Rosnov blocked her client from view for much of the proceeding.At Bellavia’s request, Judge James Wexler ordered English held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Tuesday.Rosnov said outside the courtroom she couldn’t comment on specifics of the case because the public defender’s office would handle further proceedings. However, Rosnov said English denied the charges.Thor Jourgensen provided additional reporting for this story.