Attempted Murder Charge After Crash Twist

Yellow warning sign reading crash against blue sky — Photo: Bankrx / Shutterstock

Police say a woman with a slashed throat leaped from her moving car and survived long enough to get help.

Story Snapshot

Police found a driver with a severe neck wound after her car hit a Saratoga Springs business.
Investigators say her coworker in the passenger seat cut her throat with a knife.
The woman reportedly jumped from the car and shouted for help before the crash.
Officers detained the passenger nearby and charged him with attempted murder.

A crash scene that pointed to something worse

Responding officers reached Augie’s To-Go in Saratoga Springs after a vehicle hit the building. They found the driver with a severe neck laceration that police said did not match crash injuries. Police said the wound looked like a knife cut, not a result of the collision, which raised alarms about what happened inside the car moments before impact. First responders treated the woman at the scene and took her to Saratoga Hospital before an airlift to Albany Medical Center for higher care.

Detectives worked the scene and spoke with witnesses and medical staff. They said they learned the driver and her passenger were coworkers leaving their shift. According to police, the passenger, identified as David Cruz Torres, had asked her for a ride home. Investigators say that during the drive, Torres pulled a knife and slashed her throat. The woman reportedly forced the door open, jumped from the moving car, and screamed for help. The car then continued and struck the building.

The arrest and the charges

Officers reported that Torres tried to run from the area after the crash. Police located and detained him close by. He was charged with attempted murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. Those charges reflect what prosecutors say happened in the vehicle and the seriousness of the neck wound. Police said the victim’s injuries were life-threatening when they reached her, which explains the quick transfer to a regional trauma center.

Prosecutors in New York must prove attempt by showing both intent to kill and conduct that came dangerously close to the crime. The New York Court of Appeals has long used that “dangerously close” rule for attempt charges. A slash to the throat can support an argument that the attacker aimed at a vital area, which can bolster intent. Courts have upheld attempted murder charges in knife attacks that target the neck and chest when the total evidence points to an intent to kill.

A 36-year-old man is accused of slashing his coworker's throat with a knife while she was driving him home from work in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Police say David Cruz Torres, of Michoacán, Mexico, pulled out a knife and cut the victim's throat mid-drive. The woman managed to… pic.twitter.com/pSYl6hkGjU

— Fox News US (@FoxUSNews) October 12, 2026

Inside the legal stakes and what comes next

Police say the pair were coworkers and that the ride home started as a routine favor. That detail matters because it narrows the window for planning and also speaks to trust. If a jury believes the cut came without warning, while the victim drove, that can show both opportunity and lethal aim. The crash site provides a fixed scene. The reports say investigators collected evidence, interviewed witnesses, and sought warrants to build the case.

The line between first-degree assault and attempted murder will matter in court. State law treats intent as the hinge. A deep cut to the throat in a confined space can read as intent to kill, especially if paired with flight after the act. That pattern has supported attempt charges in other New York knife cases where vital areas were targeted and the conduct nearly caused death. A single sentence of caution applies: an arrest is not a conviction, and the defense will test each part of the state’s proof.

Public safety, common sense, and the duty to prosecute

Police accounts describe a driver who fought to live by throwing herself from a moving car. That choice speaks to urgency and fear that many jurors and citizens recognize. Common sense tells us a throat slash during a drive is not a scuffle. It is a deadly act carried out in a place where escape is hard. Charging attempted murder in that scenario upholds the duty to protect the public and set firm lines against predatory violence.

Several outlets repeated the same core facts from Saratoga Springs police. Those reports align on key points: the neck wound, the jump from the car, the crash into the building, the detention nearby, and the charges. One outlet later named the victim as Olivia Neri and noted a fundraiser as she heals, a reminder that behind the statutes and charges stands a person who will face a long recovery. The court process will sort intent, but the public record already shows a brutal act that demanded a fast and firm response.