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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Man accused in hit-run appears in court

By , Columbian Local News Editor
Published:

A transient man allegedly involved in a Monday hit-and-run that injured a Clark County Sheriff’s deputy made a first appearance Friday in Superior Court, according to court records.

David J. Stitzel, 26, appeared on suspicion of second-degree assault and hit-and-run injury stemming from the incident.

Two deputies were dispatched at 8:50 a.m. to a suspicious vehicle parked in the brush at 1105 N.E. Blair Road in Washougal. Upon arrival, the deputies found a green Subaru parked in a 40-foot-long, brushy driveway. Two people were in the vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The deputies approached on each side of the vehicle and asked the driver to turn off the engine and put his keys on the dash. The passenger, identified as Stitzel, opened the passenger’s side door and handed over his identification, court records said.

The driver was reportedly fishing around for his identification when he grabbed the keys and started the car. Stitzel reportedly yelled, “go, go, go.” The driver sped into reverse, causing the passenger door to hit one deputy and knock him into blackberry bushes. He suffered lacerations to his arm and a possible knee injury, the affidavit said.

Stitzel and the driver then fled in the car westbound on Blair Road. The deputies were unable to immediately locate the vehicle or suspects, court records said.

Stitzel was apprehended Thursday. He pleaded not guilty Friday, and his bail was set at $50,000, according to court documents.

The driver of the vehicle is still at large.

Clark County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Fred Neiman said the deputy was not seriously hurt.

Stitzel’s trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 7.

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