A mangled mass of metal at the end of a high speed ride through Woodhaven that resulted in the death of Matthew Soria the 34-year-old husband of Maria Espinosa who was driving the Ford Explorer. She has been arrested for the death of her husband and charged with murder. Robert Stridiron/The Forum Newsgroup
A Queens couple with a history of domestic violence faced a tragic ending this week after Matthew Soria, 34, died when his wife crashed their car as he clung to the hood.
The incident unfolded after an argument, reportedly over money, broke out between Soria and his wife, 51-year-old Maria Espinosa.
Soria had approached his wife on a bicycle around 8 a.m. as she was getting into a Ford Explorer parked on Jamaica Avenue near Dexter Court, where the couple is believed to live.
According to police, Soria was trying to prevent Espinosa from getting into the vehicle, but she pushed him away. He jumped onto the car’s hood and when she took off, he was holding on.
Witnesses say the husband was screaming for his wife to stop the car but she continued to drive, sometimes at speeds in excess of 80 mph.
A crazy ride through Woodhaven streets ended around 11 blocks later in a crash that left Soria dead.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that when Soria jumped on the hood of the car, she tried to get him off by backing up and hitting a parked car, trying to force him to fall off the hood; when the attempt proved unsuccessful, she took off.
The death ride continued west along Jamaica Avenue until she made a U-turn to head back in the original direction, but Espinosa struck another car and pinned Soria near Crescent Street on the City Line border.
Witnesses at the scene say that the woman was crying uncontrollably at the scene and looked like she was “out of it.”
Soria and two other people from the other vehicle were rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Records show a long-standing history of domestic violence between the couple and an arrest record starting before 2000, for Soria.
By Patricia Adams
