Vinnice Daianie Leon, Robert B. Leon, and the Wendy’s where he fatally fell from the car she was driving (WXMI screenshots)
A 44-year-old mother in Michigan was arrested earlier this month for her role in the death of her husband, who died outside of a local Wendy’s restaurant after being thrown from the hood of her vehicle.
Vinnice Daianie Leon was formally arraigned on one count of a moving violation resulting in death in connection with the death of Robert B. Leon in March 2024, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Vinnice Leon was appeared in Holland County District Court on Monday for her arraignment and was released from custody after posting a bond of $1,000
According to a report from MLive.com, the tragic incident occurred on March 25 at about 12:35 p.m. at the Wendy’s located on East 16th Street in Holland, Michigan. The couple were in the restaurant parking lot with their daughter in the car, a 2009 Dodge Charger, when they got into a heated argument. Robert Leon allegedly got out of the vehicle, but when his wife tried to pull out of the parking lot, he jumped on the hood of the moving car. Robert Leon fell to the ground and struck his head, causing a brain bleed.
He was transported to Corewell Health Zeeland Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Vinnice Leon provided additional details about the events leading up to the fatal incident in an interview with Grand Rapids Fox affiliate WXMI.
“I’m still in disbelief. The whole thing blows my mind,” she told the station, emphasizing that she had no intention of hurting her husband.
Vinnice Leon explained that the argument stemmed from her having recently ordered a Nintendo Switch gaming console when her husband wanted her to purchase a PlayStation 5.
“He got really upset. I’ve never seen him fly off the handle like that. I’ve never seen him — I don’t know why he got so angry,” she said. “But then he started calling me names, and being very aggressive. He scared my daughter. She screamed at the top of her lungs, like scared cuz he was yelling at me. He slapped me and then he punched my arm. I told him, ‘You know, I can cancel the order; I can order the PS5.’”
As the argument continued to escalate, Vinnice Leon said that her husband became so upset the he got out of the car, leaving her and her daughter in the vehicle alone. According to Vinnice Leon, her husband was so out of control that their daughter was screaming for her to get away from him. She claimed that Robert Leon was trying to “break the window on the driver’s side door.”
“My daughter’s screaming. She’s like going, ‘Mom, get me out of here; get me away from him, Mom. Save me.’ So I pulled out of the parking spot, and I went to go forward,” Leon said.
Vinnice Leon claimed she was only trying to drive to the adjacent parking lot to give her husband a chance to “cool down,” when he suddenly leapt onto the car.
“As I was pulling out, he jumped on the hood and he was holding on where the windshield wipers are,” she told the station. “I had proceeded to turn, and as I turned he slipped off and hit his head; that’s what caused him to pass away. He had a brain bleed that was inoperable,” Leon said.
The moving violation charged against Vinnice Leon is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
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