By Alexis Krell
The News Tribune
TACOMA, Wash. — A man run over by a patrol car while lying in a Tacoma street remained in critical condition Sunday in the intensive care unit of St. Joseph Medical Center, police said.
The man’s wife identified him as 22-year-old soldier Emanuel Andrade, KIRO-TV reported.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord spokesman Joe Kubistek confirmed Sunday that Andrade is a soldier at the base. Kubistek said he expected Monday to have information about which unit he is assigned to.
Andrade was hit about 1:20 a.m. Saturday in the 600 block of North Fife Street.
Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said the officer was patrolling for car prowlers, running license plates on his computer before he hit the man, who was lying in the road.
The officer, who had been driving slowly, aided the man until medics arrived, Cool said.
The News Tribune could not immediately reach the 22-year-old’s wife, Susana Andrade, Sunday night.
“Right now, I can’t put it together, honestly,” she told KIRO. “I really want to know what happened that night and why things happened that way.”
She knows he had gone out with friends, she said.
At the hospital, he has not been able to talk, but has been able to squeeze her hand.
Emanuel Andrade, who has a 7-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son, served in Afghanistan and plans to be discharged July 4, his wife told KIRO.
Because it was an accident, the officer, who has been in law enforcement for seven years, won’t be put on administrative leave, Cool said.
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