ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A St. Louis County man is facing multiple charges after police said he left his child at the scene of a DWI crash that left a woman with two broken legs.
According to the St. Louis County Police Department, 33-year-old Otis Goff was charged with DWI causing serious injury, endangering the welfare of a child and multiple other crimes in connection with the Saturday crash.
Police said the crash happened on the 10000 block of Baron Drive in Castle Point at around 6:15 Saturday night. Witnesses told police they saw Goff speeding and swerving before he struck the victim.
The victim, 72-year-old Marcella Wilson, was loading things into her car for a relative's baby shower when she was pinned between her car and Goff's car, according to Wilson's daughter.
Wilson was rushed to the hospital and listed in critical condition.
As of Monday morning, Wilson was undergoing surgery on her right leg, and her left leg was amputated, according to her daughter.
"It was going so fast it was like two cars crashing, we heard 'pow' and we came running out the house," Artricia Wilson said. "My sister was talking to her, they were here trying to help. It was a horrible sight. That person hit her and left. My mother was viciously mangled by another car."
After the crash, Goff's child got out of his car, and when Goff drove away from the scene without waiting for police officers to arrive, he left his child at the scene.
Artricia told 5 On Your Side she remembered seeing a child.
"There was a child I saw them but everything was total shock and chaos out there. I don’t know where the child went. My son said he ran out the corner, I don’t know. We were trying to take care of our mom," she said.
Police later received another call after a witness reported Goff parked his car at his home on Lucas and Hunt Road and started chasing another one of his children. When officers arrived, they said Goff had a "strong odor of intoxicants" and "glassy eyes."
His car, which matched the eyewitness description of the car involved in the crash, had a broken windshield, a dent in the front bumper and blood on the front. Police have obtained a search warrant to test the blood.
The news release said Goff threatened officers and others during their investigation, The release also said officers discovered Goff was driving on a revoked license at the time of the crash.
Goff was charged with two counts of DWI resulting in serious physical injury, leaving the scene of a crash, endangering the welfare of a child and driving while on a revoked license. He is being held on a $350,000, cash-only bond.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said his office acted as quickly as possible to make sure no one else was hurt.
"We are going to do everything in our power to hold this defendant accountable. And we hope that if people are listening, do not get behind the wheel of a car, if you've been drinking or using any kind of drugs. And if you see someone trying to do that, stop them," Bell said.
Bell said unfortunately unless someone is behind bars, it’s tough for law enforcement to stop people from driving drunk.
"I mean, unless we are able to assign officers to individuals, there's only so much that that that we can do. There's only so much that law enforcement can do. Nobody wants an officer assigned to watch them and we wouldn't have the resources to do that either," Bell said.
Artricia also voiced for more lights on the road and speed bumps. She said people are constantly driving fast in the residential neighborhood.
Artricia said her mom is in good spirits and fighting. She explained her mom is a ball of energy and she is a big part of their family.
She said they are next to Marcella fighting beside her.
"As a family, we pray together and we will stay together. She is going to fight but it’s not over yet because now we need to get justice for our mama," she said. "We need some justice because he just hit her and left her lying in the street."
A GoFundMe has been set up for Marcella. The GoFundMe page said, "My mother lives on a fixed income. This life changing accident will put a financial strain on my mother."
To donate, click here.
Goff has a criminal history.
Some charges include:
- A burglary in 2012, Goss took a guilty plea and he was on probation for five years.
- An order of protection in 2014.
- DWI in 2021.
- Order of protection against him on July 2023, he was accused of stalking a woman he has a child in common with. The order of protection was continued in August for a full order of protection and it involved a child protective order, in which he had to stay 300 feet from the children.
There is a bond reduction hearing on Nov. 27 and a preliminary hearing on Dec. 14.
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