Woman crashes car after estranged husband strangled her from back seat, say deputies

TAMPA - From the Action Air One helicopter, you could see Tania Martinez's wrecked Nissan Altima on the doorstep of a home on West Paris Street in Tampa.

"This morning she got up for work like usual. She left in the car ahead of me. She says that once she started driving, he was hiding in the backseat, and that's when he tried to strangle her with a rope. He put the rope around her neck. She lost control of the car and crashed into the house," said the victim’s father, Humberto Lujan.

He says he’s afraid for his and his daughter's safety and asked us to conceal his identity. Her estranged husband, Alexis Testa-Yero, is wanted by law enforcement. Lujan tells us the two had been arguing but he didn't know their fights would turn into a violent confrontation.

"I had confronted him at work -- we work together -- and told him he needed to stop screaming at my daughter. But now, I find out from my daughter that he was threatening her behind my back," he said.

The crash flipped the victim's car, sending it airborne, and knocking her unconscious.

"When she woke up, she realized he was once again trying to strangle her. Maybe because he was unsuccessful at his attempt or maybe something spooked him, but something made him leave the car and flee the scene," said Cristal Bermudez Nunez, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson.

Hillsborough County deputies have a warrant for Testa-Yero's arrest.

Lujan says his daughter spent the day trying to get a restraining order against her estranged husband.