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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There's quite a bit of difference.  The charge pursued is a misdemeanor that could result in up to 93 days.  Hit & Run causing serious impairment is a felony that can get you 5 years and $5000 fines.  The unbelievable and unsupported streaked windshield-sun-trash can defenses would get most folks charged with felony hit & run given the same circumstances.

It doesn't seem right, the lesser charge under MCL 257.601 (misdemeanor for causing bodily injury but not fleeing scene) and MCL 257.617 (felony for causing bodily injury and fleeing the scene), but maybe Asaro sat in the MCC school parking lot and  checked his mirror, saw blood, or realized for other reason that it was more than a garbage can and was calling someone to see what to do.  It just seems strange that officer found him there and convinced him to go back to the scene without some kind of communication.  Did he get caught, or was he coming to grips with what happened (as you said, X?).  Does this excuse his behavior of not stopping at the scene?  I personally think not and it seems he is being given a much lesser charge.  Is this a good example for the rest of us?  Will everyone who hits and seriously injured a pedestrian claim "oh I justthoughtitwasa garbage can") and get away with a felony charge.  This is "depraved indifference" thinking, imo.

On another view, I'm not saying it excuses Ansaro's behavior for not immediately stopping, but at least he did stop a few miles away.  If he really wanted to get lost, he could have headed north and got lost on some back roads to Gaylord.  But then his last work commitment of the day would have been looking for him.   Hitting a pedestrian with a vehicle has to be one of the most haunting accidents and hopefully this terrible accident will make us all more careful driving, especially in a residential area.

I drove through the area today and noticed that the speed limit is 40 m.p.h. (seems too high for the area when just prior is 30) and sidewalks end in that residential area.  That is a city-shame.  Prayers for Maria Ray and her family.

 

There's blame enough to go around from the driver not paying attention to the woman walking in a dangerous situation to the City's lack of sidewalks.

This case brings back a memory of another hit and run that happened in Ludington. A undocumented person  [ illegal ] hit a vehicle and fled. Later the wife , a city employee stated she was the one that was driving.  What ever happened in this case?  Hit and run causing damage , filing a false police report. Being in the country illegally??

Believe it or not, that happened only a little over 2 years ago.  The wife was a district court clerk, not a city worker, but there is a bit of resemblance between the two incidents.  I followed that case for awhile, but it looks as if Rosemary, the clerk, is over in Cleveland working as a recruiter/safety administrator for a transportation firm.  One hopes she took her family with her.

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