Moses Lake woman pleads not guilty to striking boy with car, leaving scene

EPHRATA — A Moses Lake woman pleaded not guilty to striking a 9-year-old boy with a car and leaving the scene. Numerous members from the Unchained Brotherhood Motorcycle Club were present at the suspect’s court appearance in Ephrata on Tuesday to show support for the victim.

Suzette Brown, 49, of Moses Lake, pleaded not guilty to hit-and-run and tampering with physical evidence.

Brown’s charges stem from an incident on June 14, when the Moses Lake Police Department received a report of a vehicle striking a pedestrian in the area of East Lark Avenue and South Grand Drive and leaving the scene. Witnesses reported the victim, a 9-year-old boy, was walking his bicycle across a crosswalk on South Grand Drive when he was struck by a 2004 Ford Escape.

The driver of the car, alleged to be Brown, reportedly failed to stop at a stop sign and struck the boy with enough force to knock the license plate off her vehicle. Witnesses state the boy was on the hood of the car for between 15 and 30 feet before he fell off. The boy was on the ground as Brown allegedly dragged his bicycle for another block underneath her vehicle and fled the area. The boy was initially transported to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake with head injuries, but was later transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane for further treatment. He was later released from the hospital.

Another witness reported hearing the boy get hit by the vehicle and witnessing a man and woman in a “metallic” SUV accelerate past his home. He said he was able to spot a green helmet in the grill of the vehicle. He advised a woman was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and a man was riding in the passenger seat, but later told police Brown did not match the description of the woman he saw driving the car, according to police records.

Police were able to contact the registered owner of the Ford Escape, who initially stated his daughter, Brown, was using the vehicle. The man later contacted MACC Dispatch and stated Brown told him the vehicle was stolen. Brown was contacted at her residence in the 900 block of Easy Street and initially denied being involved in the collision and stated her vehicle was stolen, but later changed her story. She said she left a friend’s home on South Grand Drive and was traveling “maybe” 30 mph when she struck the boy.

“Brown stated she hit the boy and the bike and saw the boy fall to the pavement. She said the bike was still under her vehicle for about a block. Brown explained when she looked in her rear-view mirror, she saw the boy lying on the pavement not moving,” wrote a officer. “Brown stated she panicked and left scene. I asked her if she panicked because she had a warrant and she said yes. I asked her if she panicked because she had a suspended license and she said yes.”

Brown said after the collision she told the passenger in the vehicle, identified as William Young, 23, of Moses Lake, to get rid of the car and he drove the vehicle out to the Moses Lake Sand Dunes and left it there. The vehicle was recovered at the dunes and Young was arrested for tampering with evidence and second-degree rendering criminal assistance. A search warrant was granted for Brown’s blood, as she admitted to smoking methamphetamine about 10 hours before the collision.

Over 10 members of the Unchained Brotherhood Motorcycle Club were in the courtroom when Brown entered her plea on Tuesday to show support for the young victim of the hit-and-run.

Unchained member Zane Peterson told the Columbia Basin Herald the group was there to support both the boy and his family.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.