Suspected hit-and-run driver says he can’t remember crash that killed Parkland grandma
A man charged in a hit-and-run collision in Parkland that killed a grandmother told police he does not remember the incident.
Daniel Fullerton, 30, on Monday was charged with failure to remain at an accident resulting in death. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment.
Superior Court Commissioner Craig Adams set bail at $100,000, saying the alleged facts suggest Fullerton had a “wanton disregard for the safety of others.”
Pierce County prosecutors said the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed.
Killed in the crash was Patricia Williamson, a 69-year-old woman who lived just two blocks from where, according to court records, Fullerton struck the driver’s side of her Ford Escape before fleeing the scene.
She was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Charging papers give this account:
Deputies responded about 10 p.m. Saturday to a collision near 138th Street South and Yakima Avenue South.
A witness told investigators he came upon the scene immediately after the crash and helped Fullerton push his Econoline van backward a few feet to get it out of the roadway.
He then watched Fullerton make a call on his cell phone and assumed it was to 911.
It wasn’t.
Instead, Fullerton apparently called somebody to come get him.
A man in a smaller van arrived moments later, helped Fullerton move several cases from the Econoline van into the smaller van and then they left, court records show.
Deputies impounded both the Econoline van and Williamson’s Ford Escape.
On Sunday, a woman called deputies looking for the Econoline van and claimed it belonged to her son, whom she had taken to a St. Joseph Medical Center for a head injury.
Deputies found Fullerton in the hospital and asked him about the collision.
“When asked if he remembered driving the previous night, the defendant stated ‘no’ and that he didn’t remember anything,” records show.
Medical personnel said Fullerton told them he believed he’d been in a car accident the previous evening.
He was arrested after being treated at the hospital, and investigators seized Fullerton’s cell phone and a handwritten note found inside his wallet with four phone numbers listed.
Williamson leaves behind six children, 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Her loved ones declined to speak with reporters outside court.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:44 PM.
