One dead, one hurt after motorcycle hits van

A Vancouver man died and a woman was injured Tuesday morning when a motorcycle hit a minivan in the East Minnehaha neighborhood.

The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Northeast 63rd Street and 58th Avenue.

The motorcyclist who was killed was identified as Paul Austin, 45.

A 2005 Aprilia motorcycle was traveling west on Northeast 63rd Street and hit a 2000 Ford van, which was making a left turn onto eastbound 63rd Street from 58th Avenue, said Sgt. Dennis Pritchard with the sheriff’s Traffic Homicide Unit. The motorcycle was traveling at an excessive speed, which is believed to be a factor in the crash, he said.

Vancouver firefighters were called to the scene from nearby Station 5. When they arrived, bystanders were performing CPR on Austin, said Capt. Kevin Murray, Vancouver fire spokesman. Firefighters took over resuscitation efforts, but Austin was pronounced dead at the scene, Murray said.

Louise Krovas, 87, of Sammamish, the driver of the van, was not cited. Krovas, the only person in the van, was admitted to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center with injuries not believed to be life threatening, the sheriff’s office said in a release.

“Anytime there’s a fatality, the person in the other vehicle is transported,” fire spokesman Murray said. Many times they’re in shock, he added.

Krovas was listed in satisfactory condition Tuesday night.

Sheriff’s deputies deployed flares and Clark County Public Works set up barriers on Northeast 63rd Street at Andresen Road to the east and Northeast 56th Avenue to the west, where 63rd Street’s name changes to Northeast Minnehaha Street.

Detectives with the sheriff’s office Traffic Homicide Unit investigated the crash.

Jeff Barram lives near the scene of the crash. He’s heard of several crashes at the intersection before.