Man Accused of Running Over Ex-Wife With Truck Arrested

The man accused of running over his ex-wife with a pickup truck and killing her, has been taken into custody at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Cesar Castillo, 37, surrendered to authorities at the San Ysidro Port of Entry around 2:15 p.m. Monday, according to the Chula Vista Police Department.

He is accused of killing is ex-wife, Leonor Castillo, also 37, by driving over her twice.

Leonor's boyfriend told NBC 7 she had planned to meet with her ex-husband to help him buy Christmas gifts for their three daughters, ages 3, 8 and 10.

On Friday evening, Castillo picked Leonor up in his white 1998 Chevy Silverado truck in the 1200 block of 1st Avenue, where Leonor lived.

But the two did not make it four blocks before Leonor somehow got out of the truck in the 1100 block of Elm Avenue, the boyfriend said. Witnesses told police they saw a white truck run over Leonor in a home's front yard, circle back and hit her again, taking out a fence in the process.

Investigators believed Castillo then fled to Mexico, where his mother lives, according to Leonor's boyfriend.

He said Castillo started getting aggressive in March when his ex-wife began dating her new boyfriend, whom she met while working part-time at a Lowe's hardware store.

Leonor got a restraining order against her ex-husband in April after he allegedly held her hostage in his truck, driving her around and threatening to crash, her boyfriend told NBC 7.

After the restraining order was filed, Castillo made an effort to get his life together and get back into Leonor's by attending counseling, the boyfriend says.

Leonor had full-custody of their daughters and was just elected as vice president of the PTA at their school, Palomar Elementary.

The search is on for a hit-and-run driver who fled a deadly scene in Chula Vista. It happened Friday night in the 1100 block of Elm. According to witness accounts, police say the driver hit the woman once, then made a U-turn and ran over her again. As NBC 7’s Omari Fleming reports, neighbors are rattled by what they saw.

On Monday, the school sent out a note to parents, explaining that their "beloved" PTA vice president had been killed. Officials said psychologists would be on campus if any student or staff member needed to talk about the loss.

A small makeshift memorial in the spot where Leonor died continued to grow Monday.

chula vista vigil
NBC 7
People left candles and flowers to honor Leonor Castillo in the spot where she died.

The memorial is just steps away from a chain-link fence that was badly damaged in the incident. Neighbor Russ Anderson, who owns the fence, says seeing Leonor’s body is something that will stick with him forever.

“I was on the fire department for a long, long time, so I’ve seen lots and lots of cases like this,” Anderson said. “But to have one in your own backyard is just an awful thing.”

Castillo was employed as a maintenance worker in the Mission Bay area.

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