He was going 52.7 mph when he hit deputy’s patrol car head on, documents allege
A Spanaway man was arraigned Wednesday as Pierce County prosecutors say his speeding led to a crash that severely injured a sheriff’s deputy last month.
Albert Naputi, 44, faces one count of vehicular assault in Superior Court stemming from the Feb. 7 crash in the 1600 block of Tule Lake Road South.
He was released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty, but ordered to obey posted speed limits.
According to charging documents:
Naputi was driving his pickup about 50 miles per hour in an area with a 20 mph speed limit when he turned onto Tule Lake Road from Spanaway Loop Road South about 3:30 p.m.
A 15-year-old driving a minivan with his mother in the passenger seat pulled out of the Washington High School parking lot in front of Naputi, who swerved to the right to miss him.
Naputi’s truck hit a patch of ice on the sidewalk, then swerved into the opposite lane and hit Deputy David Rose’s patrol car.
Naputi’s truck was going about 52.7 mph, and Rose’s patrol car was going about 14.2 mph when they collided, an analysis of surveillance footage from the high school showed.
Rose, 34, was trapped in the car for more than half an hour before Central Pierce Fire & Rescue crews could extricate him. He suffered a concussion, fractures of his left wrist and right hand, and cuts on his face and hands.
He needed reconstructive surgery on his left knee to repair tears to ligaments and the medial meniscus.
Rose did not leave the hospital for more than three weeks, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
Rose has been a patrol deputy since August and is a school resource officer with the Bethel School District. He began working for the Sheriff’s Department in 2008 as a corrections deputy.
“He has a long, hard recovery,” Troyer said.
Naputi was unhurt in the crash, despite his airbags not deploying.
Kenny Ocker: 253-597-8627, @KennyOcker
This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 5:45 PM with the headline "He was going 52.7 mph when he hit deputy’s patrol car head on, documents allege."