An Arizona mother has been sentenced to ten years in prison after running over a 12-year-old girl with her pickup truck following a dispute in a park, according to prosecutors.
Brandie Gotch, 31, has entered a guilty plea on three counts of aggravated assault, according to a statement from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. In February 2024, a brawl broke out among Gotch’s children at Westgreen Park in Peoria, a suburb of Phoenix, as other kids cheered them on and captured the scene on video.
According to prosecutors, Gotch was at the park to collect her children and was escorting them to her truck when a 14-year-old boy hurled an insult at her. Gotch approached the boy, seized his hair, and started “yanking his head back and forth and side to side, while shouting at him,” authorities had reported earlier.
A second boy allegedly referred to her in a derogatory manner, prompting her to head to her white Chevy Silverado. She reportedly retrieved what seemed to be a sharp stick and pursued the boy, shouting threats of violence.
Gotch gathered her four children into the pickup truck. A second boy positioned himself behind her truck, engaging in a display of mockery and movement before retreating to stand alongside his sister. In a dramatic turn of events, Gotch accelerated the vehicle, heading straight towards the boy and his sister. Prosecutors reported that while the boy managed to leap aside, Gotch struck the leg of the 12-year-old girl.
A furious mother made her way through the park, where over a dozen children were present. Prosecutors reported that some individuals were forced to jump out of the way of the truck.
Gotch returned home but was subsequently taken into custody.
During a questioning session with investigators, Gotch confessed to entering the park, maneuvering “around the bathrooms” and “across the park field” prior to departing. In response to inquiries about whether she struck any children, she expressed uncertainty, stating, “I hope not.”
According to the affidavit, Gotch informed the police that her children had been subjected to bullying by kids from the park at school. She asserted that she had alerted both school authorities and law enforcement about the children, yet lamented that “nothing has been done.” She was convinced that the harassment persisted at the park.
Gotch told authorities she ensured all her children were buckled up while driving through the park, but the kids contradicted her statement, telling police they were not secured and had been “bouncing all over the vehicle” during the incident.
