Scottville Police Fails Victim of Hit and Run, Protects State Official

Local media and police were very sparse with information on a February 16th collision on State Street close to High Street that left an elderly Scottville woman prone, bleeding, and shivering on the street as the truck that hit her continued on.  The Mason County Press had a quickly drafted story shortly after it happened, it would have no more information than the local newspaper would have when it was printed the next day:

SCOTTVILLE (LDN) — "A 72-year-old Scottville woman was hospitalized after being struck by a vehicle on Tuesday afternoon.

Scottville Police Chief Matt Murphy said the woman was hit by a vehicle while walking near the intersection of High Street and U.S. 10 in the City of Scottville.

The accident occurred around 2:30 p.m.

Murphy said the woman was transported to an area hospital.

“I don’t know the extent of her injuries,” he said.

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Scottville Fire Department and Life EMS assisted Scottville police in responding to the accident.

Undersheriff Derek Wilson told the Daily News that accident reconstructionists from the sheriff’s office would be “putting the pieces together” and continuing to evaluate what happened.

Murphy said the accident is still under investigation and more information would be released when it becomes available."

Except that the newspaper left out the fact that the vehicle returned to the scene.  More information was not forthcoming from either of these two media sources or the police about the disposition of the victim or of the driver that left the scene.  We broke the story of Accidental Heroes when we found out about four young women that witnessed the crash, stopped, rendered aid, and contacted 9-1-1, this was after noting in another story that area news sources blamed the vehicle on the crash, and not the driver, and laid more blame on the victim for the act of walking. 

Acting Chief Matt Murphy, rather than releasing more information as it became more available, took the different tact of blocking any more information from getting out.  I wrote him for a simple FOIA request for the incident report concerning the collision later in February.  I was sent a response that the full report was unavailable to the press or public because the investigation into it was not finished and still open; he had the city attorney back that false argument.  Open investigations, especially accident investigations, are not fully exempt from FOIA, this is debunked every time it's used. 

The records I eventually received showed that the UD-10, a form sent to the state police documenting every traffic crash in Michigan and filled out by the police agency that commands the scene, was submitted to the MSP on the afternoon of February 18th.  The UD-10 is created as a statistical record which does not have any exempt portions and is immediately available for purchase from the MSP once it is submitted.  This was part of the records withheld, the rest of the records were also mostly available at the time I asked for them.  

I was denied the records in early March, leading to a FOIA appeal in front of the city commission on March 15th, where they could have addressed the issue, but instead decided to push that decision ahead by three weeks.  At the April 5th meeting, it was finally released, with the city attorney saying it had been properly held before that.  The records given directly shows he is a liar.  By the time of his initial response, the sheriff's and Scottville Police Department's (SPD) investigations were completed at least a week before, with only a forensic blood draw sent to the MSP labs keeping anything open.  Properly redacted open accident investigations are routinely given to people through the FOIA.

THE REPORT:

When one reads the full report and consolidates everything, one has to wonder why this driver wasn't arrested for leaving the scene of an accident without stopping or rendering aid, which can be a felony if a death or serious impairment occurs. 

We find that the victim's name is Maria Ray, and that ten days after the accident she is convalescing in the Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.  She remembers nothing from the event, not surprising when one considers the wounds she suffered to her head.  Her left eye is still bloody and blurry, and she wishes to sleep after getting back from physical therapy.

The damage appears to be within the definition of a serious impairment of a body function, and the law says somebody who leaves the scene of an accident where this happens is guilty of a felony.  Let's look at what seems to have happened, so we can determine whether the driver's actions had the elements of leaving the scene of an accident (hit and run), this involves showing:

1) the driver had reason to believe that he was involved in an accident with an individual

2) the driver failed to stop and render aid to any injured individual

3) the driver failed to alert any police agency of the accident 

4) the driver failed to immediately stop his vehicle at the scene and remain there

The young witnesses in the car that saw the accident happen talked to both the SPD and MCSO.  They related that they saw the vehicle drive directly into Maria:  "She's gonna get hit."  The point of impact found by the MCSO was 129 feet west of High Street on the north side of State Street.  Maria Ray was properly walking against traffic, and had a right to travel on the roadway.  She could have been easily passed by westbound traffic using the center lane in passing.  That didn't happen, according to the women, he plowed right into her as if she wasn't seen at all.  

The driver, Andrew Asaro, claims that his windshield was so dirty that he could not see out of it.  He claims he was out of windshield wiper fluid.  Pictures taken of the van do not show it being dirty or streaked.  He thought he hit a garbage can somewhere along the way, but he didn't turn off on Columbia Street, the next street to his right, instead he continued driving and turned off at the Shell Station, where, if he was depending on the GPS system in his car (perhaps to the point of distraction) as he claims to have been doing, he might have noticed the SPD right across from Shell.

But he didn't stop there, he turned left on Broadway with the damage to his front end you see above and with a passenger side view mirror dangling after hitting that garbage can, a can which must have screamed a little bit when the van hit the can's yielding shoulder with enough force to displace the mirror from its moorings.  Poor Andrew Asaro could not use that possibly-bloody side mirror to look behind him and see the garbage can that for some odd reason didn't make a metallic clang or a shattering-plastic sound. 

He probably never gave a second thought as to why a trash can would be out in the traffic lane or how a normal trash can would not be high enough to hit the side view mirror of a van like his-- the two interviewing officers certainly didn't think it odd.  Nor did they think it odd when Andrew Asaro told them he had planned to buy windshield wiper fluid at the next gas station when he was stopped after Stiles Road-- when he told them he turned at the Shell gas station and went past the Scottville Wesco shortly thereafter for his next turn. 

Maybe someone felt that stopping at a gas station so close to an accident scene and right across or down the block from a police station would not be wise.  Perhaps that why he continued down side streets of a town he claims to know nothing about.  He finally stopped, according to his narrative in the high school parking lot, well away from the main road where responding units may arrive, to take off the mirror dangling and clanging on the side of his company van. 

In the reports, we never hear what was done to the side view mirror that was ripped off.  Did Andrew Asaro knowingly go over to one of the school's outdoor trash cans (without hitting it with his van) and ditch it?  Did he keep it and, if so, why didn't any of the investigating officers ask to see it?  Did he go back to Reinberg Street and pass another gas station on his way out of the school?

One has to believe that Andrew Asaro wasn't that familiar with the area, since he went back to the main highway rather than to the side streets and travel to his destination using either Johnson Road or First Street.  Kudos to MCSO Deputy Dave Barnett for being alert enough to notice the white Ram Pro-master van on his way to respond to the scene and conduct a traffic stop at the Oak Grove Funeral Home, west of Stiles Road on the highway.  

Andrew Asaro gave a very inconsistent story that appears to be crafted in order to absolve himself of any blame in the accident.  The base story is believable; Andrew Asaro is an employee of Worldwide Technology Services traveling from Gaylord to Ludington on a service call in a company van.  It quickly devolves once the collision occurs:  

 One wonders whether he could see anything on the side of the highway with his van's driver side mirror, but presuming he was able to see something, one wonders what he saw that looked like a garbage can.  One also wonders why, with all of the damage to the van's exterior and mirror, why he wouldn't stop and contact the police so that he could tell his employers and their insurance what happened to his company van, and why it wasn't his fault that someone left a garbage can on the city street's driving lane.

When Andrew Asaro drives 5 miles back to the scene (without any trouble seeing through his clean, unstreaked windshield on the way), he claims ignorance of whether the incident scene was the spot where he thought he struck the garbage can.  He then relates his route again, once again using the Shell station as a landmark.  The same Shell station he would pass on the way back with only two blocks to go to the scene.  Andrew Asaro was not acting like an innocent person, he was acting like someone coming to grips with the fact that he ran into a person and is trying to justify his act of hitting and running by claiming he thought he hit a trash can.

How was he able to get away with a story that doesn't hold muster?  Those listening to 911 radio traffic that day, and it's still in the archives, heard the deputies interviewing Andrew Asaro avoid using his name over the airwaves, and they switched over to alternate communications.  This courtesy is not given to most perps of a potential felonious hit and run charge.

 

The kid's gloves treatment was extended to him throughout as indicated in the police report, with no challenges to his story by the two deputies at the original stop or SPD officer Katrina Skinner, who eventually reached the scene.  She notes the additional fact that Andrew Asaro mentioned he had some windshield wiper fluid in his van, which contradicted his original story that he was out of fluid, and that he was going to buy and add it at his next stop.  One wonders why didn't he add it when he was getting rid of the side mirror at the school and was  so concerned about not being able to see out his windshield?

A note should be made that this accident happened in the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday, that SPD has three full-time officers that each work Monday through Friday (according to payroll records) and yet according to the report Scottville had no police coverage at the time for some reason. Officer Skinner arrives quite a bit later than the four MCSO deputies on scene, but the 9-1-1 log isn't in the records, because Skinner appears to have no intention of pursuing this felony any further.

But why was Andrew Asaro given preferential treatment, why isn't the prospect of charges for leaving the scene of an accident with serious injuries ever mentioned, and why did the officers resist using his name on the radio traffic?   Perhaps this explain the cover-up and powder puff treatment:

You see, Andrew Asaro is not only an IT worker for a tech company, but he's also employed by the Michigan DNR as a forest firefighter.  SPD and MCSO often work hand in hand with their state friends in the DNR, whether it's their conservation officers or firefighters.  SPD Chief Murphy has not only a special spot in his heart for fellow law enforcers, he also has that spot for firefighters, since he started off his career as one of those. 

So when one looks up and down the police report of Officer Skinner, there is no attempt by her to further explore the ridiculous story that DNR Officer Andrew Asaro concocted, nor suggest a course of action in sending the materials to the prosecutor for review.  Nor does she build on any of the input from the deputies' reports, which is chock full of information, nor does she explore deeper the input of the four eyewitnesses, when that further review may point to other irregularities in DNR Officer Andrew Asaro's tale of trash cans.  

Nor does she attempt to explore the best witness to this incident.  The company van itself.  Most vehicle of recent vintage have computers within them that record crash information, we find that the 2018 Ram Promaster 1500 has one of these event data recorders as shown in Bosch CDR Vehicle List

CDRs are programmed to record data in a continuous loop, writing over information again and again until a vehicle is in a front-end collision or other crash. When an accident occurs, the device automatically saves up to 5 seconds of data from immediately before, during and after an incident.  This information, which includes at least 15 data points like speed, steering, braking, acceleration, seatbelt use, airbag deployment, etc., can then be retrieved by a trained technician using a special device.  It's commonly employed by police departments as it costs only about as much as two in-car computers and can tell so much about a vehicle accident.  

Obviously, it could have been used in this case to see whether DNR Officer Andrew Asaro was speeding (40 mph was the limit) when he hit the victim which would indicate that his 'dirty windshield' excuse was as lame as it sounds to you or me.  It could also detect whether he braked or tried to steer away at the last second, not to mention how he drove for the five seconds after the collision and whether it matched his version of events.  

But any real investigation into the felony that occurred that day was postponed indefinitely due to what appears to be the professional status of the hit and run driver whose course of actions and lame narratives seem to verify that he wasn't paying attention to the street in front of him that day or cared one whit about the woman that he ran over.   For that matter, neither did the investigating Scottville Police Department who tried to cover this story up for as long as they could, unlawfully withholding this police report so that the prosecutor would have no public pressure to prosecute an obvious hit and run committed by DNR Officer Andrew Asaro.

Look at those four elements of leaving the scene of an accident involving injuries once again, look at the clear windshield, review the self-contradicting statements and actions of DNR Officer Andrew Asaro.  Then tell me why he should be treated differently than you or I would be given the same set of circumstances.

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waiting for a reply of a blog, xtreme, is far from stalking.  Still waiting for a reply on how you feel about a 72 year old pedestrian being plowed down, left for dead ... and DNR official being let go ... twice asked, no response from you.  Got an answer?  If you want to come on this blog, why don't you at least contribute to the discussion?

"Depraved Indifference" is a term that's being used to describe Derek Chauvin's action, perhaps a new sentencing type.   The troll has gone again, took its words,  but may I suggest your next handle, xfl2, "depraved indifference" would fit well.  Wow.

Good coverage on this story X. Something that won't be covered by local news. First of all, I don't think Asaro is considered a DNR Officer just because he is a DNR Forest Firefighter. I didn't read anything that stated exactly where the woman was walking when she was hit. Was she in the middle of the road or next to the curb? From what I read here it seems as though the police did not do a complete investigation and this will definitely impact any lawsuit the victim may present. Did the police check the drivers cell phone to see if it was in use at the time of the accident? If this does end up in court the victim is going to have to show that she did not in any way impede traffic. It's legal to walk in the road when there are no  sidewalks but only if they are facing oncoming traffic. Your right X, the police should have downloaded information from the van's [black box]. If there is a legitimate lawsuit I'm sure a good attorney will go after the deep pockets of the metropolis of Scottville. Just what the citizens need, more attorney fees to pay.

I am re-reviewing and transcribing the 911 radio traffic archives at that time as time permits, one of the things that I'm fairly certain about was some input from MSP units that indicated they were abnormally interested in this event even though they are not on the list of responders to the scene.  This radio traffic even suggested that the driver had prior driving incidents where he wasn't sober.  My hunch is that Andrew Asaro's peers at the MSP tried to seek a favor.  Much as certain LFD members may be given a free pass by friends in the LPD, since they work together often.

I sent my first FOIA request to Prosecutor Lauren Kreinbrink for additional records including warrant actions.  I hope she has more respect for the FOIA than Prosecutor Paul.  

I have also sent a FOIA appeal back to Mr. Alvarado to find out why a string of 8-10 characters in the MCSO report was redacted.  The lead-up is:  "I had dispatch conduct a file check of his information and he was XXXXXXXXX."  I cannot figure out why this would be considered exempt as an invasion of personal privacy, but it tests my curiosity big time.  Any ideas what it might be?

He was ... toked up ...? (Exempt characters?)

What is curious to me, is, he was travelling west?  What does this company do?  I guess that's irrelevant.  Where was he going?  I guess he never made his work destination that day?  Did he go to jail?  Did he go back to Gaylord with a broken passenger mirror?  Why was his vehicle not impounded on a hit-and-run with bodily injury?  

But what is not irrelevant is that a woman walking along a sidewalk-less street in Scottville wss hit so hard by a driver of a vehicle that it k locked the passenger mirror and parts of the front bumper off.  And the driver thought he hit a garbage can?  Disgusting police investigation, Scottville.

I'm thinking Deputy Barnett might say 'impaired' instead of toked up, but it should be noted that only alcohol was tested for, not any other substance, for some reason.  I can see why they would redact that then, since it wouldn't make sense not to check for other substances.  

He was traveling west so his complaint about the sun blinding him at 2:42 PM is unrealistic barring some major streaking on his windshield deflecting light, and that's not evident anywhere.  Scottville was leading the investigation, so one has to believe that Skinner got the blood draw and then let him carry on his mission and leave since nothing else is said of him.  No other forensics, no other tests, no impoundment.  Nothing is included in the supplemental reports regarding him or his van, not even a hint of ticketing him for anything other than a casual review by the prosecutor (I have a FOIA request for their records dealing with this).

That area of the road has been a hazard for those traveling by foot or bicycle to and from their jobs at the factory for four decades at least.  Maybe the future city manager will finally recognize the problem, since the elected 'representatives' have ignored it all that time.

"Impaired" is eight letters. It will be interesting to see Alvarado's justification for that strange redaction.

Yes, or maybe it was "DWI prior", since a review of the radio traffic has the following:

Dispatch: "Your subject is coming back nil / no / valid out of Gaylord it shows two prior 625s."

A '625' refers to the Michigan Vehicle Code section 625, which deals with drunk driving violations.  This might explain why only an alcohol test was ordered even though he didn't appear impaired.  Covering that up after covering up the full report just makes it look like the test may have been done just to get their DNR friend off of a more serious charge.  When will government officials learn that the cover up is often worse than the actual crime?

thanks, X, for the transcription and expose.  I figured it was something like that, and for those of you in "xtremville" that means the DNR employee who plowed Maria Ray over, seriously injured her and left her for dead, well-likely may have been intoxicated and was let go by SPD.  Is that terse enough for you to understand or have you gone under a rock for awhile because even you think this is wrong and will change your troll station? or do you maybe feel it's none of anyone's business and that SPD is doing a fine job?

I received a FOIA response from the county prosecutor this afternoon.  Andrew Asaro will face the justice system, albeit not as somebody who hit an elderly pedestrian and ran, but as somebody who committed a moving violation and caused a serious impairment of body function.  You will note that the signature of the complaining witness happened earlier today, whereas the warrant was authorized yesterday.  Thanks for any and all who have sought justice for Maria, let's hope the judge will act accordingly when given the facts behind this case.

A sincere "wow" X, thank you for keeping on top of this.  Many prayers for Maria Ray's complete healing and hoping the prosecution is just, for one who left the scene of an accident.  Thanks again to the brave high school students who came to Maria's aid.

 So one has to wonder if " COMMITTING A MOVING VIOLATION  " causing injury is a lesser crime than HIT and RUN ?  He knew what he was did or why did he take the back roads towards Ludington? Still something fishy about his charges in my eyes.

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