Car salesman cited in crash
A 13-month-old girl was injured in a car wreck Monday in Moses Lake.
MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake car salesman was allegedly driving under the influence when he rear-ended a vehicle, injuring a 13-month-old girl Monday in Moses Lake.
According to reports, Matthew Morrison Burtis, 29, did not notice a vehicle had stopped for a pedestrian in the 2200 block of West Broadway Avenue just before 4 p.m. Burtis, driving an older model Cadillac STS passenger car, rear ended the other vehicle, a Chrysler Town & Country minivan, causing extensive damage to both vehicles.
A 13-month-old girl in the passenger seat of the minivan was injured and transported to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, then to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for a possible brain bleed, according to police reports. The girl was reportedly in stable condition when she left Samaritan.
While investigating the collision, officers believed Burtis may have been under the influence of alcohol. An officer on scene mentioned a possible open alcohol container in the back seat area of the vehicle in plain sight.
Burtis was given a sobriety test and a Breathalyzer test. He was placed into custody and later booked into Grant County Jail on one count of vehicular assault.
Burtis denied medical attention several times prior to officers conducting a sobriety test.
He was also reportedly driving without insurance and said he had just bought the vehicle.
Officers determined the infant was properly restrained in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
The driver of the minivan and one other passenger, believed to be the girl's grandparents, were uninjured.