Cheating Girlfriend Rams Boyfriend's Car So They Could Talk: Police

Riverside, IL - The story behind a Monday morning car crash in Riverside unfolded with dramatic flair as police discovered the collision was not an accident, but a romantically motivated crime.

Riverside police responded to 911 calls at 8:50 a.m. April 25 about a crash in the eastbound lanes of 31st Street and 1st Avenue, according to police.

Witnesses thought a heart attack might have caused a driver to reverse into the car behind her, but she was in fact dealing with non-medical troubles of the heart.

The arriving officer found the two people involved in the crash arguing outside their heavily damaged cars, police reported.

The man whose car was hit told police he was on his way to work when his now-ex-girlfriend pulled in front of him at a red light, shifted into reverse and drove backward into his car at about 35 mph.

The woman, Sophia M. Sanchez, 27 of the 4500 Block of S. Kenilworth Avenue in Forest View, told police she wanted to disable her ex-boyfriend's car so she could talk to him. The couple had been arguing that morning and the previous evening about Sanchez cheating, police reported.

“In this case, the call actually came in as an auto crash but when officers arrived they quickly determined it was a criminal act," said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel in a statement. "This was extremely reckless as the defendant in this case intentionally drove her vehicle directly into her ex-boyfriend’s car in a heavily traveled area immediately adjacent to the Brookfield Zoo."

Sanchez was charged with felony criminal damage to property and driving too fast for conditions, police reported.

Both cars had to be towed from the scene, and no one was physically injured, though some feelings were probably hurt.

Photo courtesy of Riverside police.