No bail for woman charged with running down Puyallup hospital employee

A woman charged with running down an employee in the parking lot of Good Samaritan Behavioral Health in Puyallup has been jailed without bail.

On Monday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Autumn Cornyn with first-degree assault in connection with Friday’s incident. Police said they dealt with Cornyn, 30, days earlier for a mental health episode.

Witnesses said they saw Cornyn driving a car in circles at high speed in the parking lot of the hospital at 325 E. Pioneer Ave.

She allegedly pulled behind an employee arriving at work about 7:20 a.m and stared blankly. The employee was scared enough to remain in her vehicle.

Cornyn drove off.

Seconds later, Cornyn “targeted and corralled” a 30-year-old Fife woman walking toward the building to start her shift, according to charging papers.

Cornyn drove in front of the employee, blocking her path. When the woman tried to walk around the car, Cornyn hit the gas, went over the median and struck the woman.

The woman was thrown to the pavement and was unable to move because of a compression fracture to her vertebrae.

Cornyn turned around to run over the woman but instead crashed the car into a light pole, the papers say. She was still inside the car when police arrived and took her into custody.

Cornyn has not yet entered a plea to the charges because a judge first ordered a mental health evaluation.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 8:30 AM with the headline "No bail for woman charged with running down Puyallup hospital employee."