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AZ woman sentenced for driving through park full of kids, running over girl
A mother of four was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for driving her pickup truck through a park full of kids and running over a 12-year-old girl, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced.
Brandie Gotch, 31, was sentenced on June 13 after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon earlier this year.
On Feb. 27, 2024, Gotch's children were fighting with each other at Westgreen Park in Peoria, according to the County Attorney's Office's June 14 news release. Other kids at the park were "egging" the kids on and recording the fight, it said.
Gotch went to the park to pick up her kids, and while she was walking them back to her truck, a boy called her a name. Gotch responded by going over to the boy and pulling him by his hair, the news release said. Then another boy called her a name, so she chased him around the park with a stick, according to the news release.
Court records said that while chasing the boy with the stick, Gotch yelled, "I am going to kill you and run you over!"
When she got into the truck with her kids, the second boy stood behind it, dancing and mocking her, the release said. He eventually moved to stand near his sister.
Gotch then backed out of the parking space, revved her engine and drove right at the boy and his sister, according to the release. He was able to jump out of the way, but his sister's leg was run over. Gotch continued driving through the park where more than a dozen other children were at the time — some had to run away to get out of the truck's path, according to the release.
Gotch left the park and was later arrested at her home.
'This could have been a much more tragic situation," said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in the release. "Thankfully the worst injury in this was a sprained ankle and some bad scrapes and bruises. Even when angry or frustrated, it's up to adults to act like adults. It is never okay to take our rage out on a kid."
After she was arrested, Gotch told detectives that the altercation started when she saw preteens throwing wood chips at three of her kids. She believed one of the preteens punched her 10-year-old daughter.
That's when she approached the two boys. Gotch admitted grabbing the first boy and getting a stick and walking toward the second, but she never threatened him, she said.
Gotch admitted to reversing aggressively with her truck and then driving forward before driving through the park, police said.
According to court documents, Gotch didn't believe she ran over the girl but later said, "I hope I didn't."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Brandie Gotch sentenced for driving through AZ park, running over girl
