Man faces vehicular homicide in death of good Samaritan

The Vancouver man facing charges in a hit-and-run crash that allegedly led to the death of a good Samaritan appeared in court Tuesday to face an upgraded charge of vehicular homicide.

Joshua C. Frahm, 28, entered a not guilty plea to the charge at his arraignment hearing. Prosecutors say he was driving a Ford F-150 pickup north on Interstate 205 just before 6 a.m. Dec. 7 when he rear-ended a northbound blue Honda CRV and did not stop or report the collision.

The crash sent the CRV across all northbound lanes. It crashed into the highway’s center concrete median and stopped in the center and left northbound lanes. Richard G. Irvine, 63, of Camas was driving north, saw the collision, pulled over on the right shoulder, ran to the CRV and called 911, according to court documents.

While Irvine was on the phone with dispatchers, a northbound Honda Odyssey minivan struck the passenger side of the CRV and pushed it into Irvine, throwing him into the right lane, court documents say. Irvine suffered serious injuries and was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center along with the CRV’s driver, Steven M. Klase, 25, of Battle Ground.

Irvine died Dec. 19 at the Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver as a result of the multiple blunt-force injuries he sustained in the crash, according to court documents.

Klase suffered a fractured leg in the collision. He was treated at the hospital and released.

The driver of the minivan, Fredy Delacruz-Moreno, 41, of Seattle, is not facing any charges in the crash, according to Prosecuting Attorney Kasey Vu.

Though Frahm reported his truck as being stolen, investigators later identified him as the motorist involved in the collision, according to court documents.

In addition to the vehicular homicide charge, Frahm also faces charges of vehicular assault, hit-and-run injury and false reporting. His next hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 19.