Car salesman cited in crash
Herald Staff Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 8 months AGO
MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake car salesman was allegedly driving under the influence when he rear-ended a vehicle, injuring a 13-month-old girl Monday in Moses Lake.
According to reports, Matthew Morrison Burtis, 29, did not notice a vehicle had stopped for a pedestrian in the 2200 block of West Broadway Avenue just before 4 p.m. Burtis, driving an older model Cadillac STS passenger car, rear ended the other vehicle, a Chrysler Town & Country minivan, causing extensive damage to both vehicles.
A 13-month-old girl in the passenger seat of the minivan was injured and transported to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, then to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for a possible brain bleed, according to police reports. The girl was reportedly in stable condition when she left Samaritan.
While investigating the collision, officers believed Burtis may have been under the influence of alcohol. An officer on scene mentioned a possible open alcohol container in the back seat area of the vehicle in plain sight.
Burtis was given a sobriety test and a Breathalyzer test. He was placed into custody and later booked into Grant County Jail on one count of vehicular assault.
Burtis denied medical attention several times prior to officers conducting a sobriety test.
He was also reportedly driving without insurance and said he had just bought the vehicle.
Officers determined the infant was properly restrained in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
The driver of the minivan and one other passenger, believed to be the girl's grandparents, were uninjured.
MORE IMPORTED STORIES

Mattawa man pleads guilty to vehicular assault
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 9 years, 7 months ago
ARTICLES BY HERALD STAFF WRITER

Staatses plead not guilty
EPHRATA - The Moses Lake couple, accused of refusing to take their child to a hospital as the boy was starving, pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

Central Wash. Home Expo this weekend
MOSES LAKE - Basin residents wanting to build a new home, or renovate an existing one, can turn to next weekend's Central Washington Home Expo for inspiration.

Nurse practitioner program begins in Othello
Application deadline is May 15
OTHELLO - The Columbia Basin Health Association will start a training program for nurse practitioners, beginning in September. The program's application deadline is May 15.