A man apparently was sleeping on a discarded couch along South Meridian early Sunday morning when a vehicle driven by a University Place woman struck and killed him. Neither the driver nor responding Puyallup police officers knew the victim was buried under a pile of debris in the initial minutes following the collision.
The driver, Miyeko Don Genae Vaughn, 24, of University Place, was arrested at the scene for suspicion of driving under the influence. She was charged Monday by the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office with vehicular homicide for the death of the 59-year-old man. A not guilty plea was entered on Vaughn's behalf. Bail was set at $50,000.
Police responded about 2:30 a.m. Sunday to a business in the 100 block of 31st Avenue SE after Vaughn called 911 to report the collision. The first officer to respond eventually found Vaughn and a heavily damaged vehicle on South Meridian, according to court records.
Vaughn told officers she had had a single drink at a friend's birthday party earlier that evening. She said she had collided with another vehicle as she was northbound on South Meridian. No other vehicle was at the scene when police arrived, records show.
She was administered a field sobriety test, which she failed, according to charging documents. Her blood-alcohol level registered .131 on a portable breath test, records show. The legal limit is Washington is .08.
As one officer continued with the DUI investigation, another examined a pile of debris about 300 feet from Vaughn's vehicle. The pile contained the remains of a couch and a heavily damaged dumpster. The officer suspected they were part of the collision.
"I noticed a shoe on the ground which I had initially believed came from the dumpster," the officer wrote in his report. "I then saw what appeared to be skin showing from the pile. At that moment, I realized there was a body in the couch debris. I pulled back the hoodie and observed a male's face."
The officer determined the man was dead and resuscitation was not possible given the extent of his injuries.
According to court records, police determined Vaughn's vehicle left South Meridian near the intersection of 31st Avenue SW, traveled across grass, over a sidewalk then struck the couch and dumpster and traveled through a parking lot before ending up behind a sporting goods store — a distance of 400 feet.
