A Battle Ground man who was driving under the influence when he crashed his vehicle, seriously injuring his passenger, was sentenced Friday to three months in jail.
Mike A. Wild, 53, previously pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to vehicular assault DUI in connection with the June 25 crash. He had no prior felony criminal history.
Wild was driving a 2006 Jeep Wrangler south in the 24100 block of Northeast 112th Avenue from 244th Street in Battle Ground when his vehicle drifted off the road at about 7 p.m., according to a probable cause affidavit. The vehicle traveled about 117 feet before hitting a tree and flipping.
Responding officers said they didn’t see any evidence that Wild attempted to brake or tried to get back onto the road, the affidavit said.
Dmitriy Sveshnikov, a passenger in Wild’s vehicle, suffered serious injuries in the crash, including brain hemorrhaging and a broken jaw, court records show.
A Clark County sheriff’s detective said he found five unopened bottles of beer on the ground under the Jeep. There was a 12-pack container inside the vehicle that had one bottle of beer inside of it, court records said. Sveshnikov told detectives he saw Wild consume two or three beers before driving, according to court documents.
Wild told an officer at the hospital that a deer ran out in front of his vehicle, causing him to crash, the affidavit said. The officer said he noticed Wild showed signs of impairment and requested a search warrant to test his blood. Wild then ran naked out of the emergency room, court records show. He was subsequently detained.
Toxicology tests found Wild still had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.19 percent and a THC content of 6.4 ng/mL hours after the crash, according to the affidavit.
On Friday, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said Wild clearly has a problem with alcohol. Wild has a 2010 conviction for negligent driving, he said.
Wild’s defense attorney, Shon Bogar, said his client recognizes that “he made a horrific mistake, which he’s taken very seriously.”
He said Wild, who’s struggled with mental health issues, has taken steps to get help, including substance abuse treatment.
“I’m guilty of this,” Wild told the court, adding that he did not intend to harm anyone. “I do have a problem.”
Judge Suzan Clark told Wild he needs to understand that he not only could have killed his friend, but he could have killed himself.
“You can’t drink or use marijuana. You aren’t safe to do that. Some people aren’t,” she said.
Clark sentenced Wild to 90 days in jail but said if he qualifies he can serve the last 30 days on a work crew. He was given credit for four days in custody.
Wild will report to the Clark County Jail on Saturday.
