A Muscatine 18-year-old has pleaded not guilty to charges his vehicle hit a woman directing traffic outside Muscatine High School in December and then left the scene.
Court documents said the case against Rudy Rata has been scheduled to go to trial on April 13. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for March 29.
Rata faces charges of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon (vehicle), reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a valid license, and remains free after posting $5,000 bond.
The Muscatine Police Department responded Dec. 16 at 3:30 p.m. after the Muscatine County Joint Communications Center was notified of a hit and run accident at Muscatine High School, 2705 Cedar Street, Muscatine.
An investigation into the accident revealed that the victim, who had been contracted by the school to direct traffic, was attempting to redirect a driver from attempting to drive in a direction that was not authorized.
Rada allegedly momentarily stopped his forward progress then accelerated his vehicle in the direction of the victim. Rada allegedly ran over the woman’s foot as he left the parking lot causing the victim to fall to the ground. Police allege he later tried to conceal the location of the vehicle.
Anyone with additional information about the incident is asked to call Det. Jeff DeVrieze or Lt. David O’Connor at the Muscatine Police Department, (563) 263-9922 at extensions 611 or 608.