UPDATE: Victims identified in fatal Highway 99 crash

Traffic homicide investigators with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office identified the man and woman involved in Tuesday afternoon’s fatal single-car crash.

Annastasia Morrison, 20, of Vancouver was driving her 2006 Mazda MX6 4-door sedan at a high rate of speed south on Highway 99 when she lost control and crashed into a pole in the parking lot of My Daddy’s Automotive at Northeast 72nd Street, according to a bulletin from the sheriff’s office. Morrison was killed on impact and the car cut in half, said traffic homicide detective James Payne.

Joseph Reilly, 21, of Vancouver was walking on the north side of Northeast 72nd Street at Highway 99 on his way to work at Smokey’s Hot Oven Pizza, when he was struck by the Mazda. Reilly was thrown across 72nd Street from the impact, into the parking lot of Collins Plaza. He was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition on Wednesday night.

Both Reilly and Morrison were outside of the car when deputies arrived, making it unclear Tuesday night exactly what happened and who was where at the time of the crash.

Morrison’s Mazda MX6 was first spotted driving recklessly on Interstate 5 southbound at Northeast 99th Street before the accident, according to calls received by 911 dispatchers.

She took the 78th Street exit and turned right onto Highway 99, where video surveillance from area businesses and a C-Tran bus showed the vehicle speeding down the highway.

There is no indication that Reilly and Morrison knew each other. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, Payne said.

Payne said the incident involved continued reckless driving over a fairly significant distance, but detectives are still trying to figure out why. Why was Morrison speeding? Why did she take the 78th Street exit? Why did she veer into the northbound lanes of Highway 99?

Morrison was driving with a suspended license, said sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Fred Neiman.

According to the Washington Courts website, Morrison had a pending Jan. 28 court date in Clark County for two criminal cases, one of which was traffic-related.

The sheriff’s office Traffic Homicide Unit continues to investigate the crash.