Hit-and-run driver who struck ice cream truck drank beer before crash, records show

A hit-and-run driver who struck an ice cream truck in Tacoma and critically injured the driver drank six beers before the crash, court records show.

The 40-year-old was charged Friday with vehicular assault, failure to remain at an injury accident and third-degree driving on a suspended license. The Lakewood resident pleaded not guilty and was ordered jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail.

The ice cream truck driver remains in critical condition but is expected to survive. He suffered a broken neck and brain injuries that will be “life changing,” records show.

Charging papers give this account:

The collision happened about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Avenue and South 84th Street.

The ice cream truck was traveling north on Pacific Avenue when a cargo van going east on South 84th Street ran a red light and hit the ice cream truck.

The ice cream truck driver, a man in his 60s, was thrown from his three-wheeled vehicle.

The driver of the cargo van did not stop and fled, police said. Several bystanders followed him until he pulled over on East D Street, got out and tried to walk away.

Bystanders restrained him until police arrived.

Officers said they smelled alcohol on his breath. He allegedly admitted to drinking six beers in the hours before he got behind the wheel.

The man told police he fled because “he does not have a driver’s license and he does not have insurance,” records show.

This story was originally published July 20, 2018 at 2:08 PM.