Suspect in hit-and-run that injured CenturyLink worker had prior DUIs, court records say
Pierce County prosecutors charged a man accused of a hit-and-run that seriously injured a CenturyLink worker this month on the Key Peninsula.
Michael Tisdale, 38, faces one count of failing to remain at an injury accident, four counts of duty on striking property, and one count of vehicular assault DUI, according to court documents.
He pleaded not guilty at arraignment Monday, Sept. 18, per procedure, in Pierce County Superior Court. Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set bail at $50,000, according to court records.
Charging papers give this account of what happened:
On Sept. 16, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to 88th Avenue Northwest and Danforth Street.
When they arrived, emergency personnel were giving aid to a woman.
A deputy reported seeing severe bruising on the woman’s face.
Investigators later discovered the woman was a CenturyLink employee who was hit by a vehicle while working on a cable box on the side of the road.
“There was a CenturyLink van and a set of mailboxes near her that had been hit,” according to court documents. “The mailbox bank contained four mailboxes that had been damaged. It appeared that a vehicle had been traveling westbound on Danforth when it hit (the woman), who was likely working on the power box, and then the mailboxes before continuing westbound.”
The woman was taken to a hospital.
She suffered “several broken ribs and a fractured pelvis,” according to court documents.
A reporting party told investigators Tisdale came to her house and told her he’d driven into a ditch.
There was damage to Tisdale’s car, he seemed to be intoxicated, and he was slurring his speech, a deputy reported.
Investigators inspected Tisdale’s car and saw “a dent in the center of the hood and scratches and dents in the grill, the driver’s side headlight was broken, and there was an open Bud Light beer can in the center console,” according to court documents.
Video evidence provided by the reporting party to deputies showed Tisdale arriving at her property.
“Tisdale is seen approaching the house quickly in the vehicle before getting out and checking the damage to the van,” according to court documents. “He vomited on his shirt and then changed it.”
Deputies arrested Tisdale on suspicion of hit-and-run.
They took him to St. Anthony’s Hospital for a blood test. Investigators are waiting for toxicology results.
Tisdale was convicted of two prior DUI charges in 2006 and 2008, according to court documents.
This story was originally published September 22, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
