Brookings resident facing serious charges following hit-and-run incident involving wheelchair

BROOKINGS A Brookings resident remained in jail on Tuesday afternoon following a Saturday hit-and-run incident involving a vehicle and a motorized wheelchair that led to a knife being pulled and the subsequent use of a Taser.

Jamison Lee Stein, 22, is in the Brookings County Detention Center on a $20,000 bond and faces multiple charges, according to center records and a probable cause statement from the Brookings County States Attorneys Office. Those charges are:

• Aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, a Class 2 felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine
• Felony hit-and-run, a Class 6 felony punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a $4,000 fine
• Second offense DUI

The initial incident unfolded around 6:44 p.m. Saturday on South Main Avenue when an injury accident involving the wheelchair and a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix was reported, according to a news release from the Brookings Police Department. The operator of the Pontiac identified as Stein in the probable cause statement was traveling north on Main Avenue South, between the 1200 and 1500 block, and struck the motorized wheelchair that was heading south on Main Avenue in the same lane.

BPD Lt. Joe Fishbaugher wrote that Stein fled the scene after hitting the wheelchair and did not render aid or call the BPD. Meanwhile, the wheelchairs driver was treated at the scene by Brookings Ambulance and was released with minor injuries. Fishbaugher added that the wheelchair had to be towed from the scene.

Later, at around 7:16 p.m., another BPD officer pulled Steins vehicle over in the 600 block of Faculty Drive after noting damage on it, per the probable cause statement. During the course of the arrest, Stein brandished a knife at one of the BPD officers, causing him to back up for concern of being injured. After refusing to drop the knife when told to do so, an officer used a Taser on Stein, causing him to fall forward and drop the blade.

Stein was then taken to the emergency room at Brookings Health System for medical clearance and, from there, to the detention center, where he remained in custody on Tuesday.

Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].