PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A Nederland man was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to pushing a woman out of a moving car in 2021, which resulted in her death.
(Editor's note: The above video is from a December 8, 2021 newscast.)
Lonnie Rodgers, 51, of Nederland, was sentenced by Judge Stevens to 15 years in prison for manslaughter for pushing Madison Martinez, 27, out of a moving truck, which is the maximum allowed by the plea agreement.
He has two prior felony convictions. In 2002 he received two years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and in 2009 he received two years in prison for an accident involving injury or death.
The deadly incident happened on October 15, 2021. Port Arthur Police responded to Lake Arthur Drive and 9th Avenue after receiving a call about a woman who was thrown from a vehicle.
Responding officers found an unresponsive Martinez suffering from life-threatening injuries. Martinez was taken to an area hospital where she later died a day later on October 16, 2021.
Rodgers was arrested on November 10, 2021.
Related: Port Arthur Police investigating death of woman witnesses say was thrown from moving vehicle Friday
According to the probable cause affidavit, Martinez was in the company of Rodgers and another person. Security video shows a red Dodge truck leaving the Fuel Depot parking lot quickly.
In the video, Martinez was seen coming out of or off the driver's side of the truck and onto the roadway. Another video shows how fast Rodgers accelerated and it also has audio, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Rodgers later admitted that he was driving this red Dodge truck and claimed that Martinez was standing at his window when he drove off, according to the probable cause affidavit.
A witness saw that Martinez and unknown person(s) were having an argument. Martinez was pushed to the ground and the truck attempted to pull off, it jerked forward but stopped because Martinez jumped back towards the driver's side of the truck, according to the court document.
Rodgers reckless actions caused Martinez to fall from the moving truck. This fall caused Martinez to receive severe injuries that eventually caused her death.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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