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WATERTOWN, Minn. (KMSP) - Authorities are investigating the death of a 33-year-old woman who was struck by a vehicle driven by her boyfriend in Watertown, Minnesota, Tuesday night.
At 6:41 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the 800 block of Deerfield Road to investigate an unresponsive woman in the road. When they arrived, the victim, identified as Jessica Suzanne Ludenia, was already being loaded into an ambulance. She died from her injuries at the hospital.
Investigators learned Ludenia had been struck by a pickup truck driven by her 42-year-old boyfriend, Casey Belden Hoskins. He was subsequently arrested and is currently in custody on pending charges of criminal vehicular operation.
Neighbors say they've heard arguments coming from the house in the past, but never dreamed of a situation unfolding like this.
Heartbroken over the loss, friends describe Jessica as a devoted mother and as someone who lit up the room.
“I could always tell how much she cared, and I felt like she was one of the last friends I had here in Minnesota. And now she's gone,” said Ludenia’s friend Nick Cirspinski.
“It’s a sad situation, when there's children involved. Now there is going to be a child without a mom. It's going to be tough for the child,” said Jason Kamerud, Carver County chief deputy.
Investigators learned a witness found Ludenia in the street three doors down from the home she shares with her 8-year-old daughter, Hoskins and his younger son.
Friends say the kids were home at the time, and one was possibly in the pickup truck.
“She never communicated he had been abusive. I know he had some temper issue and had lashed out,” he said. “I don't know if there is anything I would want to ask him other than ‘why?’ No problem is big enough to risk someone's life. And in this case it wasn't a risk, it was taking someone's life," he said.
Hoskins has a criminal history that includes conviction for disorderly conduct and fifth degree assault.