A Maryland man has been sentenced to 45 years behind bars after pushing a woman out of a moving vehicle near Ballston, causing severe injuries.
Willie James Clements Jr., 61, was sentenced to 35 years for aggravated malicious wounding, as well as the maximum 10 years for hit-and-run, in Arlington County Circuit Court last week.
In May 2022, Clements was driving D.C. when Maryna Kapovska, then 25, mistook him for her ride-share driver.
After she entered the vehicle, Clements drove Kapovska back to Arlington. He ultimately drove past her residence “at a high rate of speed” before shoving her from the moving SUV onto Wilson Blvd near N. Vermont Street, prosecutors said. A local jury found Clements guilty in March.
Kapovska, who is originally from Ukraine, sustained “severe head trauma.” She underwent at least two surgeries and faced a long road to recovery after the incident, according to a GoFundMe campaign which ultimately raised more than $50,000 for her medical care.
