PROVO, Utah — An American Fork man was charged Monday with running over his estranged wife while their kids were in the vehicle.

Timothy James Fawcett, 33, is charged in 4th District Court with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony; two counts of domestic violence in the presence of children, a third-degree felony; and damaging a phone, a class B misdemeanor.

On Friday, Provo police were called to a residence where a woman had been hit by a car. They learned that Fawcett had gone to his wife’s residence where they had “an argument over keeping the house clean and her cleaning,” a police booking affidavit states.

The argument turned physical and Fawcett slapped his wife in the face, according to charging documents. When the woman said she was going to call 911, Fawcett allegedly took her phone and told her he was taking their two children to St. George.

“After placing the children in the car, Timothy Fawcett started the car and placed it in drive. The victim attempted to prevent Timothy Fawcett from taking the children to St. George by placing herself in front of the car, leaving 5-7 inches between herself and the car. Timothy Fawcett slowly closed that distance, making contact with the victim. Timothy Fawcett then hit the victim with their vehicle, knocking her to the ground. After the victim was on the ground, Timothy Fawcett ran the car over the victim with the tires,” the charges state.

When officers arrived, they reported that the woman had “a large bump and a large amount of swelling to her head and forehead area, along with swelling to her arm and some scrapes and a cut to her hands.” The woman suffered injuries “to the extent that she was transported to the hospital and was almost unable to stand,” according to the affidavit.

Officers also noted that the woman “was very incoherent, possibly due to injuries to her head.”

Fawcett was convicted of torture of a companion animal in March 2022. He was sentenced to perform 250 community service hours at an animal shelter, serve one day in jail and be placed on two years of probation.

In that incident, Fawcett got mad at his wife’s 4-month-old border collie, according to charging documents, and hit the dog as well as picked it up and threw it.

“An X-ray was performed and it showed that the dog had a dislocated hip and that both of his back legs were broken. The dog also had a road rash on its stomach,” the charges state.

Correction: A previous version referred to the American Fork man who was charged as Thomas Fawcett; his name is Timothy.

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Domestic violence resources

If you or someone you know is going through abuse, help is available.

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465).
• Resources are also available online at the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition website.

There are several ways the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition can help people. Previous examples include providing financial assistance for funerals, for moving, for a variety of things, counseling that help people find a different path or stay healthy and safe and the relationship they’re in.