Did Relámpago man jump to death after fighting with his wife?

RELAMPAGO — Sheriff’s deputies said they won’t take Cristina Rivera at her word.

The 39-year-old woman told investigators Samuel Fernandez Jr., her common-law husband, jumped out of their moving car as they headed along Farm-to-Market Road 491 early Saturday evening.

The couple had been "fighting and exchanging blows" during an argument that afternoon and got into their 2001 Oldsmobile passenger car with their young children sitting in the back, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.

The family was heading north from Relámpago — a small community along Military Highway near Progreso — when Rivera slowed down in response to a threat from Fernandez to jump out of the moving car, according to the account she gave investigators.

Before the car came to a stop, Fernandez leapt from the vehicle, she said.

The 31-year-old suffered severe trauma to the back of his head, back and arms and died after he hit the pavement, Treviño said. There are no initial indications the car ran over him.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the man jumped out of the car, fell out or was pushed by his common-law wife.

Rivera stopped briefly after Fernandez hit the pavement, but she then drove off fearing her husband would try to assault her, deputies said. She went to her sister-in-law’s Mercedes home and called police to report a domestic assault from the fighting earlier that day.

A passing motorist stopped when she saw Fernandez’s body on the pavement.

Regardless of whether investigators conclude Fernandez committed suicide, was murdered or died accidentally, deputies plan to meet with the district attorney’s office to decide whether Rivera should have stopped and rendered aid.

Investigators will also examine the Oldsmobile to see if there are any signs of a struggle inside the vehicle, Treviño said. They will likely give Rivera a lie detector test to see if she’s telling the truth, as well.

"I don’t feel comfortable taking her word," the sheriff said. "This case is far from over."