WHITEHALL, Pa. -- A judge during the preliminary hearing of a man accused of fatally ramming his estranged wife with his car and pinning her against a building in the Prospect Park neighborhood sent the case to trial.

Police said Jazminka Lemo, 38, died after being pinned between the side of a building and a car driven by a man whom neighbors identified as her former husband, Esad Lemo, 47.

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• Slideshow: Pictures From The Scene

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The crash happened at about 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 near the intersection of Parkline and Maple drives (map) in the Prospect Park apartment complex.

Witnesses said Jazminka Lemo was walking with her two teenage children when the car pulled up and an argument began between her and the driver, Lemo.

Soon after that, the car turned around and came back toward the woman, hitting a tree and a pole before hitting her, according to witnesses.

The children were not injured, police said.

Esad Lemo was arrested and will be charged with criminal homicide, Whitehall Police Chief Don Dolfi said.

According to an affidavit, Esad Lemo told police that he hit his wife on purpose because he was depressed about getting divorced and losing his job.

"It's just a senseless act that never should have occurred," Dolfi said.

The former couple lived in separate apartments in the complex where the crash happened, and there had been a history of domestic disturbances between them, police said.

The wife filed for a protection from abuse order a few years ago, and officers had not been called to the home for some time, Dolfi said.

Neighbors told Channel 4 Action News that even though there hadn't been any reported incidents lately, the woman continued to fear for her safety after getting a PFA.

"This very well may be another example of a stormy relationship that spiraled downhill and ended in tragedy," Dolfi said.

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