Woman jumps from third floor apartment to escape attacker

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SARASOTA, Fla. (CBS12) —

A man from central Florida is accused of attacking his ex-girlfriend so violently that she had no other option but to jump from an apartment building to escape with her life, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. The woman broke her arm and leg in the fall.

Investigators said it all began Saturday afternoon when the suspect, identified by authorities as 35-year-old Henry Cokley, rear-ended the woman's car while she was driving.

The attack with his car continued when she pulled in to a gas station in Sarasota. The sheriff's office said Cokley slammed his car into the woman's car and pushed it onto a curb. The woman told investigators she escaped through the back seat.

Deputies said Cokley then grabbed the woman by the hair and punched her.

A short time later, deputies received multiple calls about the woman jumping from the third floor of an apartment building.

Investigators said the woman jumped in fear of her life when Cokley smashed through a front window to get into her apartment.

Cokley is now facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, tampering with a victim and domestic battery. He's being held on a $327,000 bond.

Cokley and the woman separated the day before the attack.