SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Editor's note: The above video is from a March 9 newscast
Scottsdale police confirmed Monday that there were no criminal charges filed after 2-year-old John Warren Mahlke was struck and killed by a vehicle in Scottsdale last month.
"The investigation did not reveal any evidence establishing probable cause for criminal charging in this case," Scottsdale PD told 12 News in an email.
Sarah and Patrick Mahlke, of San Pedro, California, brought their son to Arizona for spring training, which they hoped would become a family tradition.
Mahlke was playing with his parents in a grassy area in front of the Butters Pancakes and Cafe near Hayden Road and Via de Ventura where the family was waiting for a table for breakfast. Then, a car went up on the curb and hit John and his father, the police report says. The impact threw John across the lawn.
The 28-year-old driver told police she was leaving the restaurant because of how busy it was. Surveillance video from the patio shows her car pulling up to Hayden Road and turning right, the police report says. Once she pulls onto the road, the vehicle continues its right turn even when it is in the right lane.
A blood draw confirmed the driver was not under the influence, the police report said.
Investigators also searched the driver's phone and found no open applications. It was last used more than an hour before the crash, police said.
The driver told police she had rented the car from the Turo app. She said the steering and acceleration felt strange but didn't think much of it because the car was still able to turn, according to the police report.
The driver told police she tried to stop when she saw the family she was driving toward.
The Department of Public Safety examined the car but found no mechanical issues, the police report says.
