No charges for off-duty officer who struck Lawrence woman with vehicle

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office ruled that no charges are warranted in a June incident in which an off-duty Lawrence Police officer on a family camping trip struck a pedestrian with his vehicle.

According to the accident report, Daniel Ashley, 34, of Eudora, reported hearing a “thump” under his Ford Expedition SUV while backing out of the garbage area at Hickory Walnut Campground near Clinton Lake around 8:30 a.m. June 17. He stopped the vehicle, looked around and found a woman lying to the side of and partially under his vehicle, the report said. Ashley called 911 and told dispatchers the woman had abrasions.

The Lawrence woman, Kathleen Bowman, 74, who lives at Clinton Lake during the summer as a volunteer camper, was taken by ambulance to Stormont-Vail hospital in Topeka. Nurses told investigators that Bowman had small fractures on the right side of her face.

The accident report said neither Ashley nor Bowman showed signs of impairment and the responding Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy did not test either for impairment.

Bowman said she could not remember anything about the incident, the report said.