Port Townsend attorney Harry Holloway III has pleaded not guilty to vehicular assault stemming from a Sept. 9 incident in the Port Townsend QFC grocery store’s parking lot during which a woman was injured when Holloway’s vehicle struck her, according to court documents.

Jefferson County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julie St. Marie said Monday, Nov. 28 that the vehicular assault charge is a Class B felony.

“We have a probable-cause statement, but the state is continuing to investigate,” St. Marie said.

Holloway, 73, pleaded not guilty on Nov. 18. He is being represented by Port Townsend attorney Ben Critchlow. The next hearing for the case is set for Jan. 6.

One eyewitness to the accident told a police officer that she saw Holloway back out of a parking spot at 4:44 p.m. at a “seemingly high rate of speed for a parking lot” and attempt to leave “at a high rate of speed,” according to the probable-cause statement. The eyewitness said Holloway’s vehicle struck Estefana Terrazas, and she went “completely under the vehicle” after being hit by the front wheel.

A second eyewitness agreed with the first eyewitness and said that she was “yelling at Holloway to stop before he even noticed a problem,” the court document states.

Once Holloway stopped his vehicle, the second eyewitness said, Terrazas was “just in front of the driver’s rear wheel and was disoriented and trying to crawl out from under the vehicle.”

A second police officer on the scene said Holloway told him that he did not see Terrazas as he was exiting the parking space because the sun was in his eyes, according to the court document.

Terrazas suffered a compound leg fracture, internal injuries and had to be intubated before being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment, the document states.

Viivi Vanderslice, an attorney with the Bernard Law Group of Seattle who is representing Terrazas, said Monday, Nov. 28 that Terrazas, 61, was in the hospital for almost two months and now is in a rehab facility in Bremerton.

Vanderslice said Terrazas, who was working as an in-home caregiver, suffered multiple fractures in her left leg requiring multiple surgeries, broken ribs, and her spleen had to be removed.

“She’s hoping to get home for the holidays, but it’s doubtful she’ll ever work again,” Vanderslice said.

“It’s a struggle for her to learn how to use a walker,” she said. “That’s a real shame for doing nothing wrong. It’s also a shame that the person who put her in this position and who ran over her is trying to play the victim.”

Attorney Critchlow said that his client feels bad about the accident; they do not believe it should have been charged as a felony.

“This was an accident that was charged as a felony, and I’m confident that the charge won’t stand. It was an accident that anyone could have been involved in,” Critchlow said. “There wasn’t any reckless disregard.”

Critchlow and Vanderslice acknowledged that a civil suit also has been filed against Holloway.

Holloway had been appointed as a court commissioner by Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Keith Harper several years ago. In October, Harper recused himself from hearing Holloway’s case, as did Stephen Gillard, also a Harper-appointed court commissioner.

Holloway has been an attorney since 1971, according to the Washington State Bar Association. He practices civil litigation, contracts, estate planning/probate, wills and land use law. He has no disciplinary history.