TACOMA, Wash. — Jillian Lapell said it felt like just another rainy March morning as she loaded her boys in the car to take them to school.
But moments later, Lapell said she was laying in the road in front of her Tacoma home, screaming for help.
Lapell described her account of the March 3 incident in a Pierce County courtroom Tuesday.
“My life changed forever,” Lapell told a judge during an arraignment of the man she alleges ran her over, on purpose, Scott Thornton.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Thornton with assault in the first degree, adding to the original attempted theft and hit-and-run charges filed against Thornton last month.
A spokesperson for the prosecutors said the more serious assault charge was a result of evidence that Thornton intentionally ran over Lapell.
She suffered a shattered hip, broken pelvis and a broken ankle. She spent six weeks in the hospital.
Lapell said Thornton appeared to be trying to steal her family’s camper in front of their Tacoma home.
When Lapell tried to take a photo of Thornton’s truck, she said he got in, ran her over, and drove away.
In court, a tearful Lapell described laying in the street screaming for help.
"My children ran into the street while I was unable to move with fear,” said Lapell, “Their faces were crying because of what they had just witnessed."
Lapell’s boys are 5 and 7 years old.
Thornton originally was held on $100,000 bail.
Lapell told the judge the family was very concerned for their safety and requested the judge increase Thornton’s bail.
The judge agreed, raising it to $500,000.
If Thornton is released on bail, according to a court order, he will have to stay away from the Lapell family and wear a device tracking his location.
Lapell said while being in the same room with Thornton was difficult, she was glad she came to court.
"I don't think anybody's ever really ready to see somebody who has hurt them but I know I needed to be here. That's the reason I came. I didn't come to see him, I came to get justice."