Lisa Lenahan and Kirt Heaward Arizona couple intentionally run over by truck driver while going out for a morning walk. Refugio Barraza Torres tells police he was directed by the devil to kill three people along with being on various medications.
‘The devil told me to kill 3 people.’ An Arizona couple were left hospitalised after a truck driver plowed into the pair while going for a morning walk earlier this week.
The incident left Lisa Lenahan, a former caregiver in a medically induced coma with a brain bleed following the horror attack. Her husband, a retired army veteran, Kirt Heaward was released from hospital Wednesday afternoon after breaking four ribs.
Refugio Barraza Torres was booked with two counts of aggravated assault following the incident on Monday, February 6, after he reportedly told police he rammed into the couple because ‘the devil told me to kill three people’.
A neighbor claimed they believed Torres may have been stalking the couple, who are in their sixties, prior to the attack – although they reportedly did not know the driver.
Surveillance footage showed Torres slowly turning onto the street as the couple were on a peaceful morning stroll, after following them for several minutes.
‘The devil told me to kill 3 people.’
The driver then rapidly speeds up, colliding with Lenahan and leaving her in critical condition.
Moments later, he returns and drives straight into Heaward, which causes him to crash into a brick wall. The man’s leg can be seen in the rubble of the destroyed wall, while stunned witnesses frantically call 911.
After attempting to flee the scene, Torres’ right front wheel flies off, leaving a trail of skid tracks on the road which allowed Phoenix Police to track him down.
They located Torres at a nearby house, where he was spotted standing next to the truck with a missing tire.
According to court records, Torres told police that ‘the devil’ told him to kill three people. After officers asked him if he had done so, he replied: ‘I think so.’
Local reports stated that Torres’ wife informed police he was acting strange in the week leading up to the attack, with the man telling police he was having ‘trouble with his brain’.
Family members also claimed he was taking random medications, police said. It remained unclear what drugs the man had been taken and how he came to be taken them.
Driver may have been stalking couple
‘It’s a really horrible tragedy,’ said the couple’s attorney Chris Goodnow, who said the injured couple have been together for several years.
‘When you look at the footage it’s basically a small miracle they are alive right now.’
‘They’ve been separated. Kirt is dealing with his own injuries but thinking heavily of Lisa.’
A neighbor added that they believed Torres may have been stalking the couple prior to the vehicular assault.
Linda Gourley, who lives close to the scene, told ABC15: ‘To know that somebody was on the street, and I felt like he was almost stalking.
‘He was so slow. It wasn’t normal.
‘It was bad enough to see him hit the first go round, but to know that he turned around and came back, it was like “What in the world is going on?”‘
According to a GoFundMe page, Heward is a retired Army veteran while Lenehan is a former caregiver. They are parents to four boys and have six grandchildren.
‘This devastating incident will never be undone and will keep them from doing everything they love during retirement for the foreseeable future.’
