Woman struck by truck in downtown Olympia isn’t expected to survive

An elderly woman struck down by a pickup truck in downtown Olympia on Thursday is not expected to survive, prosecutors said Friday.

“The advance word that we have is that she is brain-dead, and she is expected to die at any minute,” Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Wheeler said Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a judge set bail at $75,000 for Jared G. Dishon, a 19-year-old Shelton man suspected of driving the truck that struck the woman and an elderly man with her.

Dishon appeared before Thurston County Superior Court Judge Erik Price on Friday afternoon. Price found probable cause to charge Dishon with two counts of vehicular assault.

If the victim dies, Wheeler said, he expects Dishon will be charged with vehicular homicide.

The woman is being treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office erroneously reported earlier today that the woman had died.

The man suffered broken ribs and a hip fracture, according to court documents.

Wheeler recommended that bail be set at $500,000 because of concerns for community safety. He said that while Dishon has no violent criminal history, his driving record contains infractions for following too closely, driving more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit, failure to stop at a signal and driving with his wheels leaving the roadway. He also expressed concern over allegations that Dishon had been driving under the influence of controlled substances, including marijuana, Suboxone, Philotoxin and Adderall.

Wheeler said that Dishon was so inebriated that he ran over the victim twice.

“There were pools of blood on the ground where it happened because he backed up over the woman” after striking her, Wheeler said.

Olympia attorney Christopher Coker represented Dishon, and said he had known Dishon for about a year. He said his client has a lot of family support, and recommended that he be released on his personal recognizance.

But Price said that because of the severity of the allegations he believed $75,000 bail was appropriate.

Olympia police officers were sent to the scene, at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Columbia Street, at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. A man who identified himself as Jared told 911 dispatchers, “It’s not good, it’s not good.”

Officers at the scene saw a blue Ford F250 parked mid-turn in the northernmost lane of Fourth Avenue. A man and woman were lying unresponsive in the street, according to court documents.

Four people said they were in the truck, and Dishon identified himself as the driver, officers said. The passengers reported that they had not seen the couple crossing the street, and that the music in the vehicle was loud, according to court documents.

Officers said Dishon told them he didn’t see the elderly couple because he was “looking back” while he was turning left onto Columbia Street. He said that once he struck them, he put on his brakes and then backed over them.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Woman struck by truck in downtown Olympia isn’t expected to survive."