The Richland Police Department is recommending no charges be filed against a Pasco man hit by a car on Highway 240 in early December.
But Washington State Patrol investigators say they'll recommend Adalberto Barragan, 20, be charged with DUI, malicious mischief and obstruction.
WSP Trooper Daniel Mosqueda told the Herald it will be up to the Richland city prosecutor whether Barragan is charged.
Richland police Capt. Mike Cobb said there is one misdemeanor charge his investigators could recommend to the city prosecutor. However, there is a question whether justice would be best served by recommending charges in light of Barragan's severe injuries, Cobb said.
"You're probably not doing the best thing putting him through the court system," he said.
Barragan was hit by a Toyota sedan about 5 a.m. Dec. 4 as he ran across the highway and median.
He ended up going through the windshield of the Toyota, driven by Colton Jones, 19, of Pasco.
Barragan was released last week to a rehabilitative center from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Before the accident, Barragan reportedly was driving a Honda Civic without a front left tire and stopped at a gas station near Columbia Center Boulevard, Cobb said.
He went into the store and reportedly urinated in a storage area, prompting the store clerk to tell him he was calling the police, Cobb said.
That's when Barragan ran from the station. He reportedly then saw a Richland police officer, causing him to run onto the highway.
Cobb said that while Barragan ran away from where he saw the officer, the officer wasn't in pursuit of him and didn't have his lights or sirens turned on.
"He did run, but it wasn't a chase," Cobb said.
Cobb said that despite the damage to Barragan's Honda, officers could not find any property damage caused by Barragan's car and no victims have come forward.
That left urinating in public, a misdemeanor offense, as the only possible charge, Cobb said.
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