SPOKANE, Wash. - The woman who police believed was involved in a hit and
run collision back in June, which injured a local mother, has confessed.
According to court documents, Jessica Brazeau, 24, told investigators with
the Spokane Police Department that she struck another car on June 16, 2012 at
the intersection of Garland and Market and then left the scene because she was
scared.
Unbeknownst to her at the time, Brazeau left behind one valuable piece of
evidence: her license plate.
Police were able to use that license plate, found at the scene, to track
Brazeau down and arrest her for felony hit and run. She now faces charges of
Failure to Remain at the Scene of an Accident with an Injured Person.
The victim of that crash, Michelle Shearer, told KHQ she was
relieved.
"That made me so happy," she said. "I couldn't' imagine living with myself
after doing that."
Back in June, Shearer said she was driving southbound on Market at around
1:50 am when someone in a white Impala suddenly t-boned her SUV. Shearer's car
flipped and landed on its side. By the time she crawled out of the car, the
other driver was long gone. Shearer was taken to the hospital.
Weeks after that crash, Shearer finally has some answers about what
happened.
According to court documents, Brazeau told investigators two different
stories. At first, she said she was the passenger in the car but later, she
confessed that she was in fact the driver.
A witness at a nearby bar said she saw the woman, later identified as
Brazeau, stop, get out of the driver's seat, then get back in her car and drive
away heading westbound on Garland.
Unfortunately, this is only half the battle for Shearer.
Shearer said she suffered head, neck, and back pain as a result of the crash
and now struggles daily with short-term memory loss and cognitive
processing.
"I was at my son's birthday party and I was trying to read a card out loud
and it was just kind of 'blah, blah, blah.' like it was gibberish," Shearer
explained. "Nobody could understand what I was saying and I was all embarrassed.
My brain just still is kind of rattled."
Shearer said she regularly goes to physical therapy.
"I think I'll feel happy after it's all over and she actually gets a
little punishment out of this," Shearer continued. "Because I feel like I've
been more punished than she has."
Brazeau is set to appear in Spokane County Superior Court on August
22.
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