Driver rams woman’s SUV, then returns to kill her in deadly attack, PA officials say

A man and his wife were walking their dog moments before he saved her life, and lost his, in a parking lot attack, Pennsylvania officials said.

The couple’s walk was interrupted at about 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, when they saw a gray sedan cruise into a parking lot and “repeatedly ram” a Toyota SUV before driving away, Whitehall Township police said, according to court documents. Nobody was in the SUV at the time, but the owner “ran to the vehicle” to see the damage, and the husband and wife spoke with her for several minutes, according to investigators.

The wife, Yesenia Fistner, asked the woman, Francesca Washington, why someone would intentionally crash into her vehicle, according to court documents. She said she didn’t know “and that she didn’t have any enemies.”

While the three of them were gathered around the SUV, the gray sedan returned to the parking lot “at a high rate of speed,” witnesses said, according to documents.

Fistner could hear the driver, identified as 55-year-old Rajgion Davis, yelling obscenities out the window as he accelerated toward them, she told police. Seeing that he wasn’t going to stop, Fistner’s husband pushed her to safety, then was “immediately struck” by the sedan.

The impact launched Stephen Fistner into the air, officials said. Washington, the owner of the SUV — the woman police believe Davis was targeting — became pinned between Davis’ sedan and another parked car, police said.

Davis got out of his car and began walking away from the scene, but bystanders followed him, recording on their phones and calling 911, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Both Fistner and Washington were taken to a hospital for treatment, officials said. Fistner died due to his injuries, and Washington is in critical condition, police said.

The next day, Saturday, would have been the couple’s 23rd wedding anniversary, Fistner told WPVI. He was “a kind, loving and thoughtful man,” she said.

Davis spoke to police after his arrest, telling an officer, “I know what I did,” officials said.

“I didn’t mean to kill that other man,” he said, adding that he only wanted to kill Washington for “disrespecting me,” documents say.

Davis is facing numerous charges including homicide, two counts of attempted homicide and two counts of aggravated assault, according to officials.

This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Driver rams woman’s SUV, then returns to kill her in deadly attack, PA officials say."