At first, investigators believed the call for a fatal traffic “accident” was just that: An accident.
But as Baltimore County police delved deeper into Monday’s crash in Rosedale — which left pedestrian Gloria Elsy-Torres Restrepo, 39, dead, and a pickup driver blaming a stuck accelerator — they discovered something more sinister, officers said.
“Initially we believed it to be a traffic accident,” said Baltimore County police spokesman Cpl. Mike Hill. “But then, as we talked to more witnesses, our investigators thought, ‘Could it be intentional?’ ”
Now, Jose Manuel Claros, 40, is charged with first-degree murder in the 1:30 p.m. crash that killed Restrepo as she walked down the street, and damaged a neighbor’s porch.
Restrepo and Claros had been involved in a “boyfriend-girlfriend” relationship that had “deteriorated,” Hill said.
Claros had rented from Restrepo and had fallen behind in payments, prompting Restrepo to ask him to leave the property, police said.
Claros also was using a Dodge Ram pickup under an agreement with Restrepo, who owned the truck, police said. But Claros was not making payments on the truck as agreed, and Restrepo told him she was picking up the vehicle. As she was walking on the sidewalk in his block on Monday, Restrepo ran her down with the vehicle, police said.
“Minutes after leaving the house, Jose Claros struck and killed victim Restrepo with the vehicle in dispute,” police wrote in charging documents.
“After initial denials, Jose Claros admitted to intentionally striking and killing [her] … after losing control of his emotions,” police wrote.
Claros is being detained at the Baltimore County Detention Center on denied bail, and is awaiting a bail review.
