Angry Merced woman crashes car into Atwater garage, police say

A Merced woman was booked into jail early Tuesday after purposely crashing her car into an Atwater garage in hopes of hurting the occupants, police reported.

Atwater police responded to a call about 3:30 a.m. that a car crashed into a garage in the 700 block of Wedgewood Lane, Police Chief Samuel Joseph said in a news release.

Police stopped a black Acura in the area with major damage. The driver, 27-year-old Antonio Francois, led police to his home, where the crash occurred.

There, 26-year-old Whitney Ritchie told police she became upset with Francois earlier. She texted him, warning that she was on her way to his house and “everyone better get out” of the garage because she would drive through it, Joseph said.

Francois told police his phone was dead, and he never received the warning. He was in his garage fixing his bike when Ritchie slammed through the garage door and struck him. He suffered minor cuts to his hands and his knees were sore after he jumped on the hood of the car, crushing the front windshield, Joseph said.

When police arrived at Francois’ house, the garage door was smashed and lying in the driveway.

Francois was cited at the scene for possession of methamphetamine and driving without a license.

Ritchie was booked into Merced County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Ritchie previously was booked into jail in July on misdemeanor spousal abuse allegations, booking records show.

Ritchie was released from jail because of a medical condition, Joseph said.

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Angry Merced woman crashes car into Atwater garage, police say."