Alleged getaway driver in Port Angeles hit-and-run pleads not guilty to assisting

PORT ANGELES — The alleged getaway driver in a hit-and-run April 13 has pleaded not guilty to charges levied against him as a result of the wreck and subsequent investigation.

Timothy P. Smith was arraigned Friday in Clallam County Superior Court.

He will be tried June 13 on charges of first-degree rendering criminal assistance and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and July 11 on charges of second-degree possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance.

The 27-year-old Port Angeles resident allegedly drove Michael J. Moyle — who is accused of intentionally ramming a car carrying four people, including two small children on South Laurel Street — after the wreck.

Each of the passengers in the car were hospitalized.

The most seriously injured was 5-year-old Aaron Baker, who was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center with a head injury and broken leg. He had been discharged from the Seattle hospital by last Saturday.

Stewart Baker, the driver, and Lavender Baker, 2, were treated and discharged from Olympic Medical Center the day of the collision.

Tawny Baker, 48, was hospitalized at OMC and had been discharged by last Saturday.

Moyle’s arraignment

Moyle, a 28-year-old Port Angeles resident who remains in Clallam County jail, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges of first-degree assault of a child, two counts of second-degree assault, second-degree assault of a child — all of which come with an alternative charge of vehicular assault — and hit-and-run injury accident.

Police said they found a loaded handgun in Smith’s truck, which he allegedly used to drive Moyle away after the wreck. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

During searches of Smith’s auto body shop and home, police said they found methamphetamine and a stolen motorcycle.

Smith remains out of custody on bail. Clallam County Judge Ken Williams ordered him on electronic home monitoring last week after police arrested him while violating his court-mandated curfew.

________

Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Sue Long, left, Vicki Bennett and Frank Handler, all from Port Townsend, volunteer at the Martin Luther King Day of Service beach restoration on Monday at Fort Worden State Park. The activity took place on Knapp Circle near the Point Wilson Lighthouse. Sixty-four volunteers participated in the removal of non-native beach grasses. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Work party

Sue Long, left, Vicki Bennett and Frank Handler, all from Port Townsend,… Continue reading

Portion of bridge to be replaced

Tribe: Wooden truss at railroad park deteriorating

Kingsya Omega, left, and Ben Wilson settle into a hand-holding exercise. (Aliko Weste)
Process undermines ‘Black brute’ narrative

Port Townsend company’s second film shot in Hawaii

Jefferson PUD to replace water main in Coyle

Jefferson PUD commissioners awarded a $1.3 million construction contract… Continue reading

Scott Mauk.
Chimacum superintendent receives national award

Chimacum School District Superintendent Scott Mauk has received the National… Continue reading

Hood Canal Coordinating Council meeting canceled

The annual meeting of the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, scheduled… Continue reading

Bruce Murray, left, and Ralph Parsons hang a cloth exhibition in the rotunda of the old Clallam County Courthouse on Friday in Port Angeles. The North Olympic History Center exhibit tells the story of the post office past and present across Clallam County. The display will be open until early February, when it will be relocated to the Sequim City Hall followed by stops on the West End. The project was made possible due to a grant from the Clallam County Heritage Advisory Board. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Post office past and present

Bruce Murray, left, and Ralph Parsons hang a cloth exhibition in the… Continue reading

This agave grew from the size of a baseball in the 1990s to the height of Isobel Johnston’s roof in 2020. She saw it bloom in 2023. Following her death last year, Clallam County Fire District 3 commissioners, who purchased the property on Fifth Avenue in 2015, agreed to sell it to support the building of a new Carlsborg fire station. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group file)
Fire district to sell property known for its Sequim agave plant

Sale proceeds may support new Carlsborg station project

As part of Olympic Theatre Arts’ energy renovation upgrade project, new lighting has been installed, including on the Elaine and Robert Caldwell Main Stage that allows for new and improved effects. (Olympic Theatre Arts)
Olympic Theatre Arts remodels its building

New roof, LED lights, HVAC throughout

Weekly flight operations scheduled

Field carrier landing practice operations will be conducted for aircraft… Continue reading

Workers from Van Ness Construction in Port Hadlock, one holding a grade rod with a laser pointer, left, and another driving the backhoe, scrape dirt for a new sidewalk of civic improvements at Walker and Washington streets in Port Townsend on Thursday. The sidewalks will be poured in early February and extend down the hill on Washington Street and along Walker Street next to the pickle ball courts. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Sidewalk setup

Workers from Van Ness Construction in Port Hadlock, one holding a grade… Continue reading