OCSO: Woman purposely hit man with SUV

DESTIN, Fla. (WALA) - Okaloosa County Deputies said a busy Friday night at the La Famiglia restaurant in Destin turned violent when Kelly Gates, 45, turned the wrong way into the parking lot.

An employee of the restaurant was directing traffic when deputies said Gates pulled her SUV up to him and demanded he move out of her way.

“When he went up to the female driver and told her she was going the wrong way. She actually struck him with the vehicle. The hit knocked him back two or three feet,” said Michelle Nicholson with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said after she hit him the first time, she kept her car in drive and hit him again.

“It knocked him up onto the hood of the car and then onto the ground. The driver then left the scene,” Nicholson said.

Authorities caught up with Gates two days later and arrested her.

Deputies said she claimed the employee was screaming at her and broke a glass on her windshield.

But witnesses at the scene corroborated the victim’s story.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s just a minor tap with your car, anytime you use a vehicle with that kind of weight and size to hit a human being, then that’s a problem,” said Nicholson.

Gates is being charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The victim told FOX10 that he’s just glad no one was hurt during the incident.