Stoplight was green before Wichita driver ran over child in crosswalk, affidavit says

Witnesses to a deadly crash in downtown Wichita told police that the stoplight had turned green prior to a pickup running over a 4-year-old boy and fleeing the scene.

Marcus Downey told police after the March 8 hit-and-run at Washington and Waterman that he had a clear view of the intersection and did not see the child in the crosswalk before making a turn on a green light. He also told police that he remembered feeling a bump in the road at the time of the crash, but continued driving to work, for which he was nearly two hours late.

Hazadi Asiimwe, a 4-year-old immigrant refugee from Uganda, was struck and run over by the Chevrolet Avalanche Downey was driving. Hazadi was pronounced dead at Wesley Medical Center.

Downey, 36, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death and driving while suspended. He is not charged with a crime directly tied to Hazadi’s death.

Sedgwick County District Court on Tuesday released an affidavit by a Wichita Police Department detective that details the probable cause to arrest and charge Downey.

The document contains an interrogation with Downey and interviews with three eyewitness, though their accounts were sometimes contradictory. Police obtained video of the crash, but the affidavit contains only a brief description of what the video shows, offering few details to corroborate or refute the accounts of Downey and the witnesses.

The affidavit makes no mention of an interview with Hazadi’s mother, Suzana Nyiramaronko, or whether investigators ever spoke with her. She is listed as a witness on the charging document.

The mom previously told The Eagle, through an interpreter, that they waited to cross the street until they saw the “go” sign. The African refugee family speaks Kirundi and Swahili, but not English.

According to the court document, Downey told investigators he was supposed to be Union Station for work at 8 a.m., but didn’t leave until about 9:30 a.m. He drove his girlfriend’s pickup northbound on Washington and made a left turn onto Waterman at around 9:51 a.m., when the wreck was reported to 911.

Police said Downey was in the Chevy in the left turn lane from northbound Washington to westbound Waterman. Next to him, stopped at the red light, another vehicle was in the left lane and a Dairyland semi truck was in the right lane. About two blocks to the west, a city bus driver had a view of the intersection as the bus’ camera recorded what happened.

In the crosswalk, a mother pushed a stroller westbound crossing Washington as her elder son walked ahead, in what one witness described as a skip.

While the family was in the crosswalk, the left turn signal turned to a green arrow, according to multiple witnesses. There are conflicting accounts of whether the truck ever stopped at the intersection for the red light, but Downey and the other drivers agreed that he entered the intersection after he had a green light.

One witness said he didn’t see the truck’s brake lights after the incident. Another witness said she thought the truck may have braked prior to the initial impact because she saw it “jerk a little.” Then, she said, the front and back tires ran over the boy.

There were also conflicting accounts of whether Downey stopped immediately after the wreck. Downey said he did not stop.

In one of the detective’s two mentions of what the bus video footage shows, he wrote that the pickup did in fact come to a complete stop for about five seconds after completing the turn before continuing on its way.

When the detective said during the interrogation that video showed him hitting the child, “Downey acted concerned and denied seeing the female or child prior to the incident.”

Downey told police that he watched the turn signal for the green turn arrow, then checked to make sure the intersection was clear before driving forward. He said he had a clear view of the intersection and that nothing blocked his sight.

He said he heard “something hit something hard,” but “was sure nothing had hit his truck,” even though he remembered feeling a bump. He said he looked in the mirror and saw someone in the road picking up something, but was vague in his descriptions.

Downey kept driving to Union Station. He said he went into work, but “decided he needed a drink.” He left to get a ginger ale prior to talking to anyone at work. A police sergeant found him while he was in the parking lot.