Children run to back of house as man rams SUV through ex-wife’s home, Florida cops say

A man rammed his SUV through the front of his ex-wife’s home as she, four children and two other people inside ran to the back of the house to avoid being hit, according to a Florida sheriff’s office.

The man, Nisan Ortega, 46, drove his Ford Explorer through the front yard and front porch of his ex-wife’s Apopka home shortly before 3 a.m. on Oct. 31, according to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

When deputies responded to the home, they found Ortega “inebriated and rolling around on the floor inside,” the affidavit says.

A woman, who was identified as Ortega’s ex-wife, told deputies that Ortega had come to her home and wanted to speak with her, but she told him he couldn’t come in “due to his violent tendencies,” the affidavit says.

He “became extremely upset,” walked back to his vehicle and started to drive forward, she said. At that point, she and the other people in the house, including four children between the ages of 9 and 15, “ran to the rear of the residence” to avoid being run over, according to the affidavit. She told deputies that she didn’t see Ortega strike the home, but she heard it.

Investigators found that Ortega had tried to strike the home once but overshot the front of home “due to his intoxication level,” the affidavit says. He then drove across the street nearly 100 feet and accelerated into the front door, causing damage 10 feet inside the home, according to the sheriff’s office.

Ortega was charged with aggravated assault, burglary of an occupied dwelling and seven counts of attempted murder, the affidavit says. He was held without bond.

Apopka is about 20 miles northwest of Orlando.

This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Children run to back of house as man rams SUV through ex-wife’s home, Florida cops say."