Mom Who Abandoned Baby In Lakewood Dies In Hit-And-Run: Police

LAKEWOOD, WA - A mother who allegedly abandoned her baby on a lawn in Lakewood early in the morning on April 3 died on May 26 after being involved in a hit-and-run crash. The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is searching for the perpetrator, and released details about Hanson's death on Friday. Hanson, 31, was originally hit early in the morning on May 13 along 168th Street East in Spanaway.

The sheriff's office reported that Hanson was hit after leaving her home along 168th Street after getting into an argument with someone in the home. She made it about six blocks from the home before she was run over, according to police. A passerby found her unconscious in the roadway.

In the Lakewood incident, Hanson's infant was found abandoned in a yard along the 8500 block of John Dower Road Southeast around 1:30 a.m. on April 3. Police released images of the infant boy in an effort to find the parents.

By the afternoon on April 3, police had located Hanson at a hospital. She told them that she had taken methamphetamine and was paranoid at the time she left the baby, police said. The father, Kevin Hanson, was also located.

Hanson was charged with second-degree child abandonment after the incident, and was barred by the court from seeing her son.

According to charging documents, the baby had been left at the home of a friend of Hanson's on April 2. Around midnight, Hanson allegedly went to the home to retrieve the baby. A witness told police that Hanson entered the home and put the baby in a car seat, but the baby fell out of the seat and rolled onto the floor. Hanson then allegedly grabbed the baby by the back of his pajamas and left the home, the charging documents say.

A neighbor of the babysitter told police that, at around 12:15 a.m., Hanson came to his apartment and asked to use the bathroom, but did not have the baby with her. The neighbor offered Hanson a ride back to the babysitter's house, the charging documents say, but she "started darting back and forth and hiding behind things," and then ran away.

Tacoma police found Hanson early on the morning of April 3, and she allegedly told them that she deposited her baby on the lawn because she thought she was being chased by several people. She told police that she thought the people chasing her - who she thought were in the Russian mafia - might hurt the baby, according to charging documents.

Kevin Hanson told police that he and Jessica Hanson had been using methamphetamine on Sunday night. The couple, who are from Tonasket in north central Washington, were apparently visiting friends in the Lakewood area.

Pierce County Sheriff's deputies found a fog light and a hubcap at the scene where Hanson was hit.

If you know anything about Hanson's death, call Pierce County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

This article contains Patch.com archive material

Image via Pierce County Sheriff's Office