MILWAUKEE — A deadly road rage encounter on Milwaukee’s south side left a woman dead and a teen in custody. The teen’s mother is sharing a different version of events than what police have on record.
18-year-old Mariah Ruiz is charged with one count of 1st degree reckless homicide using a dangerous weapon in the death of 44-year-old Minerva Hernandez-Lopez on August 17.
According to the criminal complaint, Ruiz and Hernandez-Lopez allegedly participated in a back-and-forth confrontation before Ruiz opened fire from her car near S. 10th Street and W. Lapham Boulevard.
Ruiz’s mother says her daughter called during the August 17 encounter and sounded afraid, claiming Hernandez-Lopez was following her and preventing her from getting away.
“She was like, ‘Mom, I’m scared. I’ve never seen her,'” Ruiz’s mother recalled during an interview with 620 WTMJ. “I said, ‘Baby, do you know her? Who is this lady?’ She said, ‘Mommy, I’ve never seen her before.”’
The mother said Ruiz claimed Hernandez-Lopez was following her, preventing her from getting past and pulling over whenever Ruiz attempted to stop.
“I told my baby, ‘Just try to get away from her. Pull over. Maybe that lady is having a bad day. Just let her go,”’ the mother said.
According to the mother, the first call ended when Ruiz’s phone fell to the floor before the gunfire. She said Ruiz called her back afterward.
She said, ”Mom, I shot the gun,” the mother recalled. “She didn’t know that she hit the lady.”
Criminal complaint describes mutual escalation
The mother’s account differs from portions of the criminal complaint, with the court documents indicating that both drivers allegedly followed one another at different stages of the confrontation.
According to a 16-year-old passenger riding with Ruiz, the encounter began while he and Ruiz were traveling to El Rey Supermarket. The passenger told investigators that Ruiz allegedly cut off Hernandez-Lopez’s GMC Yukon.
Hernandez-Lopez then reportedly pulled alongside Ruiz’s Nissan Altima and said, “Little girl, you need to drive.”
The passenger said Ruiz responded with profanity, threatened to call immigration authorities and displayed a firearm.
According to the complaint, Hernandez-Lopez later followed Ruiz to S. 10th Street and W. Burnham Street and began recording the encounter with her cellphone. The passenger said Hernandez-Lopez explained that she was recording because Ruiz should not have a gun.
The passenger reportedly told investigators that he pulled Ruiz’s hand down because he believed she was about to shoot Hernandez-Lopez.
The complaint details that afterwards, both Ruiz and Hernandez-Lopez followed each other a short distance. The passenger said Hernandez-Lopez eventually stopped and “brake checked” Ruiz on W. Lapham Boulevard.
Shooting captured on security video
According to the complaint, security video showed Hernandez-Lopez’s Yukon traveling eastbound on W. Lapham Boulevard and stopping near S. 9th Street. Ruiz’s Altima followed closely and stopped behind it.
The video reportedly showed Hernandez-Lopez’s Yukon slowly backing into the front bumper of Ruiz’s Altima. Then Ruiz allegedly reached through the driver’s-side window and pointed an object toward the Yukon.
The complaint says three gunshots were heard while the vehicles were stopped.
Hernandez-Lopez then attempted to drive away, with two additional shots heard as her vehicle fled. The Altima was reportedly seen following the Yukon before both vehicles left the camera’s view. Four more gunshots were then heard.
The passenger told investigators that Ruiz followed Hernandez-Lopez as she made a U-turn and fired again. He said he saw Hernandez-Lopez slump over and believed she had been shot.
Officers found Hernandez-Lopez outside the driver’s door of her Yukon and attempted lifesaving measures, but she died from her injuries.
Investigators found four bullet strikes in the Yukon’s rear tailgate, a shattered rear window, and blood inside the vehicle. Five fired .40-caliber cartridge casings and two bullet fragments were recovered from W. Lapham Boulevard.
An autopsy determined Hernandez-Lopez died from a gunshot wound to the neck. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Mother says she heard the shots
Ruiz’s mother did not witness the confrontation or shooting, but she said she was approximately one-and-a-half blocks away and heard the gunfire.
”I was right behind her,” the mother said. “I heard the shots.”
The mother said she instructed Ruiz to return home because the family lived nearby. She acknowledged that Ruiz left the shooting scene and said her daughter arrived home approximately four to six minutes before she did.
After arriving, the mother asked Ruiz where the firearm was located.
“She said, ‘It’s right there, Mom,'” the mother recalled. “I grabbed the bag, picked it up, wrapped it up and put it in my truck, and locked the truck.”
The mother said she calmed Ruiz down and then drove her to Milwaukee Police District 2.
“We walked right into the police station,” she said.
Detectives searched the mother’s vehicle with consent and recovered a .40-caliber Glock Model 23 from a bag on the passenger seat. According to the complaint, a NIBIN analysis determined that the firearm was consistent with the weapon that discharged the five casings recovered at the scene.
The mother described Ruiz as hysterical when they arrived at the station.
“She was bawling,” the mother said. “At this point, she didn’t know if she hit the lady or not.”
Ruiz’s statement to investigators
According to the complaint, Ruiz admitted firing the gun and wrote an apology letter to Hernandez-Lopez’s family.
Ruiz reportedly told investigators that Hernandez-Lopez sped around her and made an obscene hand gesture, causing Ruiz to chase her. She acknowledged threatening to call immigration authorities after Hernandez-Lopez yelled at her in Spanish.
She said Hernandez-Lopez blocked her and backed into her vehicle before she pulled out the gun and began firing. She also reportedly admitted that her passenger told her not to shoot.
The complaint says Ruiz told investigators she had been “having a bad day” after arguing with her mother. She reportedly said she did not intend to hurt Hernandez-Lopez and “did not know why she fired”.
“She’s never been in trouble,” says Ruiz’s mother. “She just wanted to make sure everything was ok.”
Prosecutors allege Ruiz escalated that confrontation to deadly violence by repeatedly firing at Hernandez-Lopez, including as Hernandez-Lopez attempted to drive away.
Hernandez-Lopez, a mother, lost her life.
Ruiz now faces up to 60 years in prison on the homicide charge, with an additional five years possible under the dangerous-weapon enhancer.
Cash bond for Ruiz is set at $100,000, and she’s due back in court on September 17 for a hearing.
