Police: Woman drives SUV over partner’s neck, faces murder charge

A woman faces a murder charge after authorities said she drove her SUV over her partner’s neck, killing him in the parking lot of a North Las Vegas Olive Garden on Saturday.

North Las Vegas police took Andrea Ann Roman, 40, into custody after responding to an unresponsive man “near a red SUV in the parking lot of a local restaurant” in the 1200 block of East Craig Road, near North Bruce Street. She was charged with one count of open murder with a deadly weapon enhancement, according to North Las Vegas Justice Court records.

The Clark County coroner’s office identified the victim as Bryan Hicks, 40, of North Las Vegas.

Roman told police she and Hicks had been dating for 20 years and referred to him as her husband, though they are not legally married, according to the arrest report. Roman said she had eight children with Hicks, ranging in ages from 4 to 22, the report noted.

Bystander video shows incident

Dashcam footage provided by a witness showed that Roman and Hicks appeared to be physically fighting in front of Roman’s red Mitsubishi Outlander before she drove her SUV into him, the arrest report said.

Roman placed the SUV into drive, the report said, and jolted it forward before quickly stopping three times. Video showed Hicks throw a pair of glasses he picked off the ground in front of the car after the third jolt before he walked toward the Olive Garden, the report said. Roman told police she was wearing glasses before Hicks knocked them off her face during their fight.

With his back turned to the car, Roman turned the steering wheel toward Hicks and drove the SUV into him, launching him forward onto his back, police said the dashcam video showed. The arrest report said Roman then slowed down before continuing to drive forward, apparently resting the car on top of Hicks’ body.

Roman told police that she wasn’t used to her new SUV’s gears and thought the car was in reverse, the report said. When asked why she turned the car’s wheels toward Hicks, Roman said “it was only to scare him,” according to the arrest report. Witnesses at the Olive Garden told police they believed Roman intentionally struck Hicks.

When police arrived at the scene, the arrest report said, they found Hicks’ neck wedged under the front drivers’ side tire of Roman’s car. Roman told police her 4-year-old daughter was in the backseat of the SUV at the time.

Witnesses told police that Roman apparently tried to leave the scene before a bystander drew a concealed firearm and commanded her to get on the ground, according to the arrest report.

Back pain raised tensions

In an interview with police, Roman said her altercation with Hicks started because he had a burst disk and was agitated with back pain after recently running out of pain medications, the arrest report said.

Roman told police that Saturday was Hicks’ birthday and they planned to celebrate by retrieving their tablets and computers from a pawn shop. The report said as they were leaving, Hicks told Roman he wanted coffee, causing her to change her route.

While they were driving to grab coffee, Roman told police Hicks asked her to let him out the car, the report said. Roman said she pulled into the Olive Garden’s parking lot, where Hicks slammed the SUV’s door shut and began kicking her car. This upset Roman, she said, leading to their fight near the car’s hood, according to the report.

Roman told police Hicks had never been physically violent with her in the 20 years they were together until their fight on Saturday.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.