Multiple Wayne Police Officers responded to the Quality Inn on Route 46 at 4:35 a.m. on Feb. 2 after receiving reports of a man vandalizing a vehicle, according to police.
Officer Adrian Valentin arrived on the scene and apprehended the suspect as he attempted to flee, authorities said.
While the suspect refused to cooperate, the victim’s current boyfriend approached officers and informed them that the suspect had smashed the woman’s windshield with a rock, according to police.
Authorities reported that the woman was found unconscious but breathing in the parking lot.
When the victim regained consciousness, she told police that the suspect had confronted her and her boyfriend in a rage, thrown her cellphone, and shattered her windshield.
The victim attempted to stop him as he drove away, but he hit her with his car, causing her head to strike the pavement and knocking her unconscious, according to authorities.
According to police, Lt. Lex Deluccia reviewed hotel surveillance footage and confirmed that the suspect hit the victim with his vehicle.
The suspect, Rafael Rodriguez Peralta, 42, of Paterson, was arrested and found in possession of the victim’s cellphone, according to authorities.
He was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, assault by auto, endangering an injured victim, theft, and criminal mischief, according to police.
Rodriguez Peralta has been taken to the Passaic County Jail pending a detention hearing, according to authorities.
