PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – A man was taken into custody Thursday in connection with an attempted murder that occurred in September in Pembroke Park, authorities announced Friday.
According to Pembroke Park police, Kristopher Keith Roman, 29, was driving a light blue vehicle shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 12 when he struck a pedestrian near the Orion gas station, located at 3990 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
Officers arrived at the scene and found the victim unresponsive and suffering from multiple traumatic injuries.
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Police said the victim was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in critical condition.
“Through surveillance footage, witness statements, and extensive investigative efforts, detectives identified the suspect as Mr. Kristopher Keith Roman,” Evan Ross, a spokesman for the Pembroke Park Police Department, said in a news release. “Mr. Roman, the owner of a 2022 light blue Honda Accord, was observed on video entering the gas station and intentionally accelerating toward the victim, striking her with his vehicle.”
That victim, 32-year-old Magalie Alexandre, described what she could remember of a vehicle running her down and the driver then taking off, leaving her severely injured in the middle of a gas station parking lot.
“I just saw a bright light and then the next thing you know I was on top of the vehicle like on the hood,” she said. “I was just like dang you are just going to leave me there not ground for dead. Not even check to see if I was okay.”
According to Ross, surveillance video from the gas station and Roman’s home revealed that he was at the scene during the time of the incident.
Cellphone tower data also placed him in the area and days after the incident, Roman filed a stolen vehicle report and arranged for the repossession of the vehicle, Ross said.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office, Miramar Police Department, Pembroke Pines Police Department, and the U.S. Secret Service assisted in the investigation.
Jail records show that Roman is facing an attempted felony murder charge.
As of Friday, he was being held at the Broward Main Jail without bond.
Alexandre, now in a wheel chair but slowly learning how to walk again, is relieved Roman remains behind bars, unable to hurt anyone else.
“I am a firm believer in God,” she said. “I know everything happens for a reason, maybe he was meant to be behind bars.”