Victim just trying to help, his family says

Edgar Martinez, his brother says, was just being a friend when he became a victim.

The 18-year-old father was run over Thursday night in Hoffman Estates by the ex-boyfriend of a high school pal he was trying to help, prosecutors said. The impact broke his right foot and toes and his nose; fractured one of his ankles, dislocated a shoulder and caused other wounds.

He remained in the intensive care unit of St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates on Saturday, family members said. They said he'll undergo testing to determine the extent of head injuries.

The man accused of hitting him -- 22-year-old Jose Villegas of 2012 Bayberry Lane in Hoffman Estates -- is in the Cook County jail, held on $500,000 bond. He's charged with felony aggravated battery as well as misdemeanor criminal damage to property, a charge that stems from allegations he smashed out the windows of his ex-girlfriend's condo before he allegedly ran over Martinez on the street.

Martinez had been there, authorities and family members said, because his friend -- Villegas' ex-girlfriend -- had called him to help her after Villegas showed up.

"It's a shame stuff like this happens to good people," Martinez's brother, Arturo Martinez, said Saturday.

Prosecutors said Villegas tracked down his ex at work about 9 p.m. Thursday.

She saw him, had a friend walk her to her car, then drove to her Hoffman Estates home. Villegas went there, too, officials said, and banged out the windows of her unit to try to get her to come out.

She refused, but called Martinez for help, driving to meet him elsewhere. The duo encountered Villegas when they returned to her condo, prosecutors said. They then left the condo, and Villegas -- assuming Martinez was his ex's boyfriend -- followed them, authorities have said.

When Martinez got out of the car to confront Villegas at Salem Drive and Bode Road, Villegas plowed into him, prosecutors said, pinning him against his friend's car.

Villegas ran over Martinez's legs as he drove off, authorities allege.

Villegas' ex-girlfriend was in court Saturday. Teary-eyed, she said Martinez had been trying to protect her -- not make trouble -- when he left her car to confront Villegas.

Villegas, who has a retail theft conviction on his record, is a Hoffman Estates High graduate who lives with his parents and works at a toy store, officials said Saturday. He's due in court Jan. 4.

Martinez also has a young child and a wife, and works as a caregiver for an elderly man, his brother Arturo said.