Mom sentenced after she ran over girl, threatened kids at park after believing her own kids were being bullied

PEORIA, AZ. (AZFamily/Gray News) - A woman in Arizona was sentenced after facing charges for driving her truck through a park full of kids and running over a 12-year-old girl.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced Saturday that 31-year-old Brandi Gotch had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for an assault that happened in February 2024.

Authorities say Gotch’s kids were allegedly fighting in the park with other children, egging them on and recording.

Gotch arrived to pick up her children, but while walking them to her truck, a boy at the playground reportedly called her a name.

Police said Gotch grabbed the boy by the hair and pulled his head back and forth and side to side while yelling at him. Court paperwork said she then grabbed a sharp stick from her truck and ran after another boy, yelling, “I am going to kill you and run you over!”

Officials say Gotch and her kids got into the truck while the second boy stood behind and mocked her, before moving to his sister.

Gotch then backed out of the parking space, revved her engine and drove toward the boy and his sister. The boy jumped out of the way, but his sister’s legs were run over.

Gotch continued to drive through the park, which had over a dozen children at the time, some of whom had to get out of the way.

Part of the incident was caught on a cellphone camera. Police said they tracked her down to her home and arrested her.

During an interview with detectives, she said it allegedly started because she saw preteens throwing wood chips at three of her kids and believed one of them punched her 10-year-old daughter.

She told police she confronted the group, and they called her a slur, so she grabbed one boy and told him not to call her that.

Gotch itted to getting a stick and walking toward another boy who called her a slur but claimed she never threatened him, according to court paperwork.

Police said Gotch itted to putting her truck “aggressively into reverse, and then in drive” before driving through the park.

Gotch said she didn’t think she ran over the girl and said, “I hope I didn’t,” according to court documents.

She said her children were being allegedly bullied by the group of kids and had reported it to the school and police, but she claimed no action was taken.

She was charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

“This could have been a much more tragic situation; thankfully the worst injury in this was a sprained ankle and some bad scrapes and bruises,” said Mitchell. “Even when angry or frustrated, it’s up to adults to act like adults. It is never okay to take to take our rage out on a kid.”

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