Driver charged with assault, battery and DUI following crash
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IDAHO FALLS — A 53-year-old man was arrested Sunday night after police say he hit another vehicle, attempted to run over the vehicle’s owner, and threatened to kill another person before fleeing the scene.
Patrick Wayne Kosmicki has since been charged with felony aggravated assault and several misdemeanors, including battery on certain personnel, battery, resisting arrest and driving under the influence.
Idaho Falls police were dispatched to a hit-and-run crash outside of Heads and Tails Distillery, 310 Park Ave., about 7 p.m. Sunday. When they arrived, police say the man whose vehicle was hit told them he was inside Heads and Tails when he saw a gray Ford F-150 pickup truck back into his vehicle.
The man then told police he watched the F-150 drive away, the wrong way on Park Avenue, and was on the phone with dispatchers when the pickup truck turned around and attempted to run the man over.
Charging documents say a witness who was working nearby told police he also watched the pickup truck leave, initially driving the wrong way, and then turn around and stop in the road. The witness said he then saw the truck’s driver, identified in the charges as Kosmicki, start fighting with the owner of the vehicle that was hit.
The witness told police he never saw the damaged vehicle’s owner fight back, but that Kosmicki was punching and pushing the man. At some point, the witness stepped into the fight himself and managed to get Kosmicki onto the ground, the documents say.
Both the owner of the damaged vehicle and the witness told police they thought Kosmicki was intoxicated. Police say the witness told them he did not think Kosmicki should drive and pleaded with the man to book a ride-share service to get home.
Once allowed to get back up, charges say Kosmicki told the witness that he was going to park his truck and kill him.
The witness told police he was afraid that Kosmicki was going to come back and hurt him or kill him, but he did not move because the nearby business had cameras facing the storefront.
Police say they tracked down the gray F-150 passing through the intersection of Park Avenue and West Broadway Street, and a traffic stop was initiated.
An officer noted that the smell of alcohol was coming from Kosmicki and observed that the man had slurred speech and glassy eyes, according to the documents.
Kosmicki was ordered to exit the vehicle but refused, according to charges. When the officer attempted to open the driver’s side door, Kosmicki reportedly grabbed the officer’s left hand to prevent the door from opening.
Kosmicki eventually opened the door when told he was under arrest, the documents say. However, when officers attempted to pull Kosmicki out of the truck, they say he maintained a hold on the steering wheel.
At that point, police say Kosmicki was taken to the ground by the officers but continued to resist by keeping his hands away from them while they attempted to put him in handcuffs.
Once under arrest, the officer reported that Kosmicki refused to do a sobriety test or provide a breath sample.
Court documents say a video given to police by another bystander corroborated what was reported by both the victim and the witness.
The video reportedly shows Kosmicki grab the victim by the jacket and push him against a wall. The victim is also seen holding his hands up in the air as he escapes from Kosmicki, the documents state.
Kosmicki is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge Jacob Workman at 1 p.m. on Feb. 13.
Though Kosmicki has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If Kosmicki is found guilty, he faces eight years in prison and a 180-day license suspension.