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Man Accused Of Driving Over Wife

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By LISA A. DAVIS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 28, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - She told him he was a bad husband, and things only got worse from there.

Shortly afterward, 63-year-old Benjamin Franklin Lee found himself in handcuffs Monday evening, accused of running over his wife - twice.

After the couple drank alcoholic beverages, Lee and his wife, Jennifer, started arguing, and she said he wasn't the perfect spouse. He got in his car and tried to go to the store. Repeatedly, he told his wife to get out of the way, but she stood in front of the Hyundai Sonata, refusing to move, according to case documents.

So, Benjamin Lee gunned the engine and pulled forward, "bumping" his wife, a sheriff's office report states.

"I backed up and probably ran over her again," Lee reportedly told deputies.

He also said it was an accident.

According to the arrest affidavit, Lee told deputies he drank six beers before slipping behind the wheel.
Jennifer Lee was unresponsive when paramedics arrived. She was taken to Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, where she was in good condition Tuesday. Deputies interviewed her there later Monday.

She told them her husband had recently returned home after taking off for several days. He had been drinking all that day, she reportedly said, and had been "nasty" to her. Jennifer Lee said she stood in front of his car, begging him not to drive, but he wouldn't listen.

That's when he stepped on the gas and knocked her to the ground, 41-year-old Jennifer Lee told deputies.

Outside the couple's home, deputies found a white robe she wore during the altercation. It had black tire marks on it.

Lee's arrest report notes that a tattoo on his right shoulder reads "Ben & Jenn."

Lee, of 9512 Gatun St., was being held without bail Tuesday at the Land O' Lakes Jail on a charge of aggravated domestic battery.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or

ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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