By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 30-year-old motorist accused of driving up onto a Centralia sidewalk where he struck a pedestrian is charged with vehicular assault and possession of heroin.
Witnesses told police Christian D. Brown was driving down South Gold Street about 35 mph before his car traveled onto the east sidewalk and hit the man, according to charging documents. When his car came to a stop, the victim fell off its hood, the documents relate.
An arriving police officer found the 58-year-old Chehalis man face down and unconscious, according to authorities. He was seriously injured.
It happened in the noon hour on Wednesday, just outside the Southwest Washington Fair grounds.
Brown was brought before a judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello asked for $1 million bail, citing numerous warrants in numerous cases in Brown’s past.
But Masiello also noted, Brown had an ongoing drug case from earlier this year in which he was able to post $100,000 bail and remain out of jail pending a trial.
Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller told the judge a warrant had not been issued for her client in the past four years. He lives locally, Tiller said. Centralia police describe Brown as transient.
Judge Andrew Toynbee ordered the defendant held on $1 million bail.
According to charging documents, the police officer who contacted Brown at the scene noted Brown was extremely fidgety and abrupt in his movements; his eyes were bloodshot and watery.
A drug recognition conducted an evaluation and gave the opinion he was impaired by narcotics and stimulants. Brown admitted using methamphetamine earlier in the day and using heroin the previous day, according to charging documents.
One of two pocket knives police discovered in Brown’s pants pocket contained residue which field tested positive for heroin, according to the documents.
Vehicular assault has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Among the elements of the offense are a person causing substantial bodily harm to another when operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Results are pending from a blood test, according to court documents.
Masiello said Brown’s case from April involved possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance.
Mike Summer, the victim, yesterday was listed in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Ashley Jackson said her father had a small brain bleed, along with probably 40 stitches; many of them in the back of his head. He also had a sizable gash on his arm, road rash and trauma to his toe, she said.
Jackson is a volunteer with Lewis County Fire District 1.
She said her dad was at the fair with family and was walking back to their car to retrieve something, with his back to traffic.
He doesn’t recall much, she said.
“All he knew he was walking down the sidewalk, then the lights were out,” she said. “Then he was being loaded into a helicopter.”
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For background, read “Police: Impaired motorist drove onto sidewalk, injuring pedestrian near fairgrounds” from Thursday August 17, 2017, here
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