Rotarians sang Christmas carols and rang bells for the Salvation Army outside of J.C. Penney at the Westfield Vancouver mall Wednesday evening — but it wasn’t supposed to be that way.
“This was Rich’s shift,” said Debbie Deane.
Rich Irvine, 63, is in serious condition at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center after he was struck by a minivan last week while helping a vehicle-crash victim on Interstate 205. Several members of the Rotary Club of Greater Clark County came out to fill his bell-ringing slot and raise awareness about his medical needs.
Just hours before the bell ringing, Vancouver resident Joshua C. Frahm was arrested for his alleged involvement in the hit-and-run crash that Irvine had responded to just before the van hit him. Frahm is the owner of a pickup that witnesses say was driving erratically on eastbound state Highway 14 on the morning of Dec. 7, according to Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn. The pickup traveled north onto I-205, rear-ended a blue Honda CRV on the freeway and took off, the State Patrol said.
The northbound CRV, which was in the right lane near Burton Road, careened into a concrete barrier on the left side of the freeway. That’s when Irvine pulled over to the right shoulder, got out of his vehicle and crossed freeway lanes to help. But as he approached the CRV, a Honda Odyssey minivan, driven by 41-year-old Seattle resident Fredy Delacruz-Moreno, struck the CRV and Irvine, the State Patrol said.
Irvine’s friends and family say they are still waiting for him to show signs of improvement.
“There hasn’t been a lot of change,” Rotary member Duane Sich said Wednesday evening.
Sich, a pastor, has comforted the family and told them about the community’s thoughts and prayers. Others have brought the family food and paid for their meals at the hospital. More than $29,000 has been raised online at gofundme.com/ig105w to help pay for Irvine’s medical bills.
“We’re just trying to follow in his example,” Sich said.
The bell ringing, Sich said, was another way for the club to feel like they’re helping and supporting him. It’s also a way for them to hash out their feelings. The group hasn’t had an official meeting yet to talk about what happened.
They brought song books for caroling and gave out candy canes to people walking through the store doors.
“Everything we want to do can’t be done,” Sich said. “We’d like to turn back the clock.”
Hit-and-run arrest
On the morning of Dec. 7, Frahm reported that his pickup, a white 2006 Ford F-150, had been stolen, but reports from witnesses to the crash and surveillance footage contradicted that claim, Finn said.
That night, police found the pickup abandoned in Vancouver, and traced it back to Frahm, Finn said. Clark County sheriff’s deputies found the 28-year-old and arrested him on an unrelated District Court warrant.
Frahm was in the process of being discharged from jail Wednesday afternoon when he was arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run and filing a false police report, Finn said. He’s in the Clark County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court today.
The man who Irvine stopped to help on I-205, Steven M. Klase, 25, of Battle Ground, sustained serious injuries in the crash but has since been released from the hospital.
