A Vancouver man allegedly had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit when his auto crashed into another auto on Sunday, just north of Vancouver’s Northwest neighborhood, court records show.
Preliminary breath tests found Dustin A. Rosenberg had a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 percent and 0.162 percent. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more is considered evidence of drunken driving. He appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of vehicular assault.
The driver of the other vehicle suffered a broken femur and internal injuries, and was taken to a hospital for treatment. That person’s identity was not included in the affidavit of probable cause in support of the allegation, and the driver’s condition was unknown Monday.
At his preliminary hearing, Rosenberg, 43, attempted to ask about the other driver’s condition, but Judge Bernard Veljacic responded only to remind him he has the right to remain silent.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched shortly before 5 p.m. to a two-vehicle collision blocking the intersection of Northwest Lakeshore Avenue and Northwest 78th Street. Rosenberg’s vehicle had significant front-end damage, according to the affidavit.
He reportedly told officers that he was driving on Lakeshore and turned onto 78th Street but did not know how the collision occurred. The deputy talking with Rosenberg smelled a strong odor of alcohol on his breath.
Rosenberg allegedly told the deputy that he drank three to four glasses of red wine sometime before the crash, court records state. Rosenberg agreed to take a field-sobriety test but stopped halfway through. He refused to take a roadside preliminary breath test, according to court documents.
Rosenberg was arrested and subsequently took two preliminary breath tests, the affidavit said.
The sheriff’s office’s traffic homicide detectives were called to investigate, court records show.
Judge Veljacic granted Rosenberg supervised release on Monday. He will be arraigned Friday.
