Drunken motorcycle crash nets 90 days work release

A Battle Ground man who was driving drunk when he crashed a motorcycle, seriously injuring his passenger, was sentenced Friday to 90 days of work release.

Ansel Cecil, 22, pleaded guilty in February to vehicular assault while driving under the influence during the Aug. 4, 2014, crash in Vancouver’s Sunnyside neighborhood.

Cecil was riding a 2013 Kawasaki motorcycle with Devin Warner, then 19, of Vancouver as a passenger at about 9:20 p.m. The motorcycle crashed as it was traveling south on Northeast 112th Avenue, and both men suffered serious injuries, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

During Friday’s sentencing, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said investigators estimated that the motorcycle was traveling about 70 mph in a 25 mph zone when it crashed. Warner broke multiple bones, including both ankles, he said.

Toxicology tests found Cecil had a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent, when it was tested about four hours after the crash, Vu said. In Washington, a level of 0.08 percent is considered evidence of drunken driving.

Cecil also has prior convictions related to driving under the influence, Vu said.

Cecil’s defense attorney, Lisa Toth, said her client already completed alcohol-abuse treatment on his own and has changed his lifestyle.

She asked that Cecil serve 60 days on a work crew and 30 days through the jail’s work release program.

Judge Gregory Gonzales denied the request and said he doesn’t think Cecil has changed since August 2014, in part because he’d had multiple offenses involving alcohol.

He ordered that Cecil serve the full sentence through work release.