Email This   Larger Font      Print This   Smaller Font Advertisement   A motorcycle lies in the street after its driver was critically injured in a Friday evening accident. (Photo by N. Scott Trimble, The Columbian)

Saturday, July 19, 2008
By Craig Brown and John Branton, Columbian Staff writers

Two people were injured, one critically, Friday when a motorcycle and an SUV collided in the 12400 block of Northeast Fourth Plain Road in Orchards.

The driver of the motorcycle, whose name was not immediately available, suffered critical head injuries in the 5:37 p.m. crash, said Capt. Rick Steele with the Vancouver Fire Department.

The motorcyclist’s passenger, a woman, suffered minor injuries, Steele said.

The driver of the SUV was not reported injured.

Fire threatens condos

Firefighters were able to stop a quick-moving grass fire that briefly threatened property near the Evergreen Ridge Condominiums in Hazel Dell.

The fire was reported by passers-by at 1:44 p.m. Friday. By the time Fire District 6 firefighters arrived five minutes later, the blaze had grown from the size of two cars to about 50 feet by 80 feet.

“These are the kinds of grass fires we get concerned about,” said Leah Lothspeich, a district spokeswoman. The fire ran up a hillside, which causes wildfires to accelerate, and was burning near private property. However, it was quickly controlled. No property damage was reported.

The cause was almost certainly a cigarette butt that was tossed by a motorist on nearby Northeast Minnehaha Street, Lothspeich said. She said smokers should be especially vigilant about not tossing burning debris from cars. “It will only get drier,” she added.

The Evergreen Ridge Condominiums are at 6208 N.E. 17th Ave., about a half-mile east of Highway 99.

Woman in hospital after crash in Battle Ground

A 24-year-old woman was listed in critical condition at Southwest Washington Medical Center on Friday, a day after a car she rode in collided with another car near Battle Ground.

Kiana Silva, a resident of Arizona, initially was trapped in a Mazda sedan in the crash at Northeast 92nd Avenue and 249th Street, said Deputy James Payne with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Rescuers with Clark County Fire & Rescue used hydraulic tools to free her and the driver of the other car.

The driver of the Mazda, Ryan Tompkins, 26, of Vancouver had been driving north at a high rate of speed shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday when he lost control on a curve, Payne said.

The Mazda rotated on the road and was hit on its passenger side by a southbound Toyota Camry driven by Christine Fout, 29, of Battle Ground.

Tompkins and Fout were treated at a hospital and released, Payne said.

A sample of Tompkin’s blood was drawn to determine whether he had been drinking. No one was immediately arrested or ticketed; the case is under investigation by the sheriff’s Traffic Unit.

Tanning salon robbed

A woman who said she had a handgun robbed the Electric Beach tanning salon, 8606 E. Mill Plain Blvd., about 1:30 Friday afternoon.

No gun was seen, but the robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

She was a white female, with brown curly hair, approximately 30 years old, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and described as “chunky” by a witness. 

She wore sunglasses, a green shirt, and blue “capri” style jeans. 

She was driving a white Ford Ranger single cab pickup truck, late 1900s - early 2000 year model.  The vehicle had a black toolbox, located directly behind the cab in bed of the truck.

The robber and her vehicle were recorded on a video surveillance camera.

Anyone with information on this robbery is asked to contact the Vancouver Police Department at 360-487-7500.

Missing woman found

A missing Vancouver woman has been located in Portland, according to Vancouver police.

Officers Thursday had asked for help in establishing the whereabouts of Ciera M. Raymond, 21, after her mother reported she was missing.

A Portland police officer happened to spot her car and, when running a routine check, found out that she had been reported missing. Raymond told the officer that she was staying with someone in Portland,  and her mother was notified that she was OK.