Man says he woke up homicidal before driving into pedestrian

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. —

A routine Sunday shopping trip left one Delray Beach woman shaken after she says a last-second decision to buy cold cuts may have kept her from being hit by a car.

Lynne and her husband had arrived at The Boys Farmers Market on Military Trail in Delray Beach shortly after 8:30 a.m. Sunday to beat the crowds and pick up a few groceries.

They finished shopping and were preparing to leave when Lynne made one more decision.

“I said to my husband, ‘Do you want me to get you cold cuts?'” she told WPBF.

She turned around and went to the deli line.

That small decision delayed the couple’s return to their car, and Lynne now believes it may have kept them out of harm’s way.

When Lynne and her husband eventually walked outside, they were met with a scene that left them stunned.

“When we walked out of the store after paying for our groceries, we could see there were two fire trucks, a police car, an ambulance, and we saw our car was over the curb. We were in shock,” she said.

Lynne says she soon learned a man identified as Glenn Hartman had crashed into her car. However, the damage to her vehicle wasn’t what scared her most.

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According to investigators, Hartman told police he woke up feeling depressed and wanting to hurt someone. Court records show he drove to the farmers market and waited for someone to walk in front of his car before stepping on the gas.

Officers with the Delray Beach Police Department say the victim suffered injuries to his hand and leg after he said he was able to push off Hartman’s vehicle as it came toward him.

Lynne says, when she walked out of the store, she initially had no idea what had happened and assumed Hartman had a medical emergency.

“I thought the man had a heart attack or stroke. I was feeling sorry for him,” she said.

When she saw the arrest report, her reaction changed.

“Shock, disgust, total. Like, I feel like I have PTSD,” Lynne said.

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She says the force of the impact was enough to push her vehicle over a cement parking block.

Lynne says she’s been left thinking about what could have happened if she and her husband had left the store just moments earlier.

“I can’t stop thinking about how it could have been us walking to our car or putting our groceries in the trunk,” she said. “He hit the car so hard. If we were standing there, we’d be dead.”

She believes the decision to go back for cold cuts was more than just a coincidence.

“I don’t know what made me do that, but I figured we might need them,” she said.

Lynne told WPBF 25 News it feels like a moment of divine protection.

“I believe that was my guardian angel popping that thought in my head. With every ounce of my being, I believe that God protected us that day,” Lynne said.

Hartman was later Baker Acted after court records show he told a doctor he was homicidal when he drove to the market.

He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

According to the court proceedings, Hartman was scheduled to appear in court this week but refused his first appearance. The judge ordered Hartman to be held on a $75,000 bond and required him to follow all recommended treatment if he is released.

For Lynne, the incident has changed the way she looks at what should have been an ordinary trip to the grocery store.

“I think this country needs to do a much better job with mental health. We’re failing. We’re failing a lot of people,” she said.

She’s now thankful that no one was seriously injured.