Husband is fatally thrown from car outside Wendy’s, MI cops say. Now, wife is charged

Nearly two months after a 45-year-old man died in an incident outside a Wendy’s restaurant, his wife has been charged in his death, Michigan authorities say.

“It happened so fast,” Vinnice Leon told WXMI of the March 25 incident in Holland. “I would have never ever hurt him in a million years. He was my best friend.”

But now, Leon, 44, has been charged with moving violation causing death, the Holland Department of Public Safety announced May 20. She was jailed on a $1,000 bond.

Authorities said Vinnice Leon and Robert Baltazar Leon were involved in an argument outside the Wendy’s that led to the husband exiting a Dodge Charger they were both in.

When his wife began to drive off, Robert Leon jumped onto the hood of the Charger, according to officials. He was thrown from the vehicle when his wife turned to exit the Wendy’s.

Robert Leon hit his head on the pavement and died in a hospital later that night, according to a March 26 news release.

Vinnice Leon said her husband’s death turned her “whole world upside down,” according to MLive.com.

“I’m losing everything we had together,” she told the publication. “I’ve lost everything.”

She told MLive they had been together for 12 years and married for six.

“I’m still in disbelief. The whole thing blows my mind,” Vinnice Leon told WXMI.

The misdemeanor moving violation causing death charge carries a punishment of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000 if convicted, The Holland Sentinel reported.

Holland is about a 30-mile drive southwest from Grand Rapids.

This story was originally published May 20, 2024 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Husband is fatally thrown from car outside Wendy’s, MI cops say. Now, wife is charged."