Woman hits three pedestrians with car, jumps off Benicia Bridge

A woman who apparently purposefully ran down three pedestrians, including her estranged husband, in Martinez this morning jumped to her death from the Benicia-Martinez Bridge a short time later, according to police.

Witnesses say the woman, whose identity has not yet been released by police, drove directly toward the three at about 10:30 a.m. as they were crossing the street in the town’s busy court district, according to Martinez police.

After driving into the three victims, who were in a crosswalk at the intersection of Court and Main streets, the woman then stopped her car and reversed into one of the three before speeding away, police said.

About 20 minutes later, police received a report that a woman had jumped from the bridge, about 2.5 miles away, and investigators believe she was the same woman who drove into the three pedestrians in Martinez.

Police said the suspect’s husband had just left a hearing at the county’s family law courthouse and was accompanied by two female friends when they were hit.

All three were taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, according to police.

The suspect’s body was recovered from under the bridge by officers from the Martinez and Benicia police departments, the California Highway Patrol and members of the U.S. Coast Guard.