Pierce County prosecutors on Monday charged a 30-year-old man in a December crash that killed a 14-year-old boy riding his skateboard near Graham.
Darrell Andrew Ross of Puyallup, who was arrested last week on a separate incident, was arraigned on one count of vehicular homicide. Prosecutors allege he was drunk Dec. 27 when he hit and killed Daniel Morse, a Bethel Junior High School student.
Ross was held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Court documents gave this account:
Morse and two friends were heading down 204th Street East shortly before 5:30 p.m. Dec. 27. Morse was on a skateboard; his friends were on bicycles.
The friends told deputies a speeding car with its headlights off hit Morse in the 9700 block, throwing the teen several feet.
Another witness told deputies he had been following Ross because he “had been drinking and his brakes were not functioning properly.” The two were on their way to getting the brakes fixed.
The witness said Morse started to cross the road and was hit. He added that he saw the brake lights on Ross’ car come on just before reaching 98th Avenue East and that the car was not able to stop until 97th Avenue East.
At the accident scene, Ross told deputies he had been traveling west on 204th and didn’t see anyone in the road.
“After being advised of his rights, the defendant stated that he just did not see the kid in the roadway and that he was not drunk,” court documents state.
Ross took a field sobriety test, and a deputy arrested him on suspicion he had been drinking. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for a blood sample. The state toxicology lab tested the blood, which showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Ross said his car’s headlights had been on and that there were no problems with its brakes. Sheriff’s investigators are conducting tests on the car.
Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268
stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com
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