The passenger in a vehicle that ran over a pedestrian in Lewis County on March 4 has been arrested as a co-defendant on first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and vehicular assault charges.
Kristen Kathryn Schmotzer, 38, of Castle Rock, is accused of getting into an argument with the victim, who was walking her dog near the intersection of Nikula and Winter roads in Lewis County shortly after midnight on March 4, and telling the driver of the vehicle she was in to “just hit her,” according to court documents.
The driver of the vehicle, Angelina Esperanza Ramirez, 24, of Toledo, was arrested and booked into the jail at approximately 4:38 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, according to previous Chronicle reporting. Her bail is set at $750,000.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Schmotzer on March 5 and an arrest warrant was issued that same day, according to court records.
Schmotzer had her preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, March 10, where bail was set at $1 million.
“While they are charged as co-defendants … Ms. Schmotzer has more significant history in terms of criminal history and warrant history,” Judge Paul Strophy said of his decision to set Schmotzer’s bail higher than Ramirez’s.
Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the incident after they were notified the victim of an assault in Lewis County was in the emergency room at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview, according to court documents.
The victim was ultimately treated for a fractured right leg, rib fractures, pelvic fractures and a punctured lung.
The victim reported that she and Schmotzer have “bad history.” Ramirez reported that she and Schmotzer had been in the area looking for the victim’s boyfriend, according to court documents.
According to the victim, she was walking her small dog when a vehicle approached her and the passenger, who she identified as Schmotzer, “yelled at her asking where (her boyfriend) was,” according to court documents.
“There was a verbal exchange between the two, ending with Schmotzer saying ‘You want me to shut up, you dumb b—? I got your shut up,’” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in charging documents.
When later questioned by law enforcement, Ramirez allegedly said that the victim had picked up a rock and threatened to throw it at the vehicle, and that Schmotzer told her to “just hit her,” according to court documents.
At the end of the verbal exchange between her and Schmotzer, the victim said “the vehicle came towards her at a high rate of speed and struck her, knocking her to the ground, with the vehicle running over her.”
She reportedly became stuck under the vehicle as “the vehicle was put into reverse and tried to back out but couldn’t because she was still under the vehicle,” according to court documents.
One nearby homeowner reported his son telling him “it sounded like people were drifting, due to loud engine sounds” around midnight. When he got out of bed, the homeowner reported seeing “what appeared to be a four-wheel-drive vehicle stopped near his fence.”
After about 10 minutes, the homeowner reported, “another vehicle approached the area and then sped off towards town.”
Ramirez reportedly went to a nearby residence to ask for help, and a group of people ultimately gathered were able to lift the vehicle off of the victim, at which point she was taken to the emergency room.
Law enforcement was not notified of the incident until after the victim was taken to the hospital, according to court documents.
When Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the intersection to gather evidence, they reportedly “observed physical evidence consistent with what was reported,” according to court documents.
While the victim initially identified Schmotzer as the driver of the vehicle that struck her, an investigation determined that the vehicle belonged to Ramirez and that Ramirez was the driver at the time of the incident, according to court documents.
The vehicle was reportedly parked in the driveway of Schmotzer’s residence when deputies arrived to contact Schmotzer.
The SUV “was observed to have front-end damage and debris consistent with the reported incident,” according to court documents.
Ramirez’s arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 13, and Schmotzer’s arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 20.
