A Graham County justice of the peace has found probable cause exists to support felony charges against a Safford man who drove into a flooded wash during a July monsoon storm, pulling several first responders from the scene of a search for a young girl swept away earlier in the evening.
Kade Alton Good was named in a complaint filed in July by Officer Josh McClain in the Pima Justice Court on charges of reckless driving and endangerment with substantial risk of death stemming from his conduct the night of July 22. That is when Good drove his pickup into Cottonwood Wash with a passenger despite a flash flood warning in the area, traffic signs which warned not to enter when flooded, and a fire truck blocking the other side of the roadway.
According to court records, Good’s pickup was quickly surrounded by water estimated to be at least five feet deep. As a result, a number of emergency personnel has to leave the scene of the frantic search for Maci Reed, age 4, who had been riding with her family in a Chevrolet Suburban that stalled out in high water and was then swept away into the Cottonwood Wash shortly before 9:30 p.m.
Good, 37, drove into the water about one-mile north of where the Reed vehicle was overcome by the flood waters. He and his female passenger were rescued from the raising water without serious injury.
On July 29, Good was taken into custody on a warrant issued by Justice of the Peace Wyatt Palmer. He was released from jail in early August after posting $10,000 bail to await a decision on whether the case would move forward.
That decision came Sept. 8 when Palmer determined the Graham County Attorney’s Office had shown probable cause exists for Good to stand trial on the charges. He is expected to be formally arraigned on Sept. 27 at which time a trial date could be set.
Good was already facing charges related to DUI and reckless driving from an April incident in which he drove a SUV through the wall of a commercial building in Safford.
Rescuers from multiple Gila Valley agencies, as well as Arizona Department of Public Safety, Cochise County Search and Rescue, Greenlee County Search and Rescue, and USBP BorStar spent the next few days searching for the girl. The rescue was hampered by bad weather and ongoing flooding.
Maci Reed’s body was recovered July 26 several miles from where she was last seen alive.
