Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tammy Darlene Hart, 47, was arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated battery after allegedly hitting a man intentionally with her car.

A responding Gainesville Police Department officer spoke with the victim, who reportedly had cuts that were caused by breaking a nearby glass door, along with a black eye; when the officer asked about the black eye, the victim said Hart had caused it, and he showed the officer scratches on the back of his head and a large rectangular bruise on his back. He said that when he walked away from Hart, she followed him in her car for about a block and then drove into his back.

Post Miranda, Hart reportedly said the victim’s black eye was caused by a vine hitting his face when they were four-wheeling in the county and the scratches on the back of his head were from a razor.

She reportedly denied at first that anything had happened with her vehicle; the officer reported that she became “increasingly hysterical” and eventually said that the victim jumped on her hood, but the bruise happened when he was working on vehicles. The officer noted that the bruise seemed fresh and faded significantly during his investigation.

The officer also noted that Hart’s car had a softball-sized dent on the front right of the hood that was consistent with the victim’s injury. When the officer asked what caused the dent, Hart reportedly said she hit a deer while driving 45 mph; she said she had pictures and an insurance report to prove the incident, but the officer reported that she never produced those things, “even when given ample time.”

Hart has two misdemeanor convictions (one violent). Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $75,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.