A 21-year-old man appeared in Clark County Superior Court on Tuesday for allegedly lying to a police officer about his involvement in a single-vehicle crash during which a passenger was ejected.
Devin R. Swanson was arrested on suspicion of “attended” hit-and-run.
Battle Ground police officers responded to the report of a traffic accident in the 1200 block of Southwest 13th Avenue at 11:39 p.m. Saturday, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Officer Yaroslav Pavlenko wrote in the affidavit that he arrived on the scene and found a 1988 Toyota 4Runner with heavy damage and one of its rear wheels broken off. Pavlenko reported the vehicle had hit a guardrail.
“There was a male lying face down on the ground” with blood near his head, the affidavit says. Fire District 3 was nearby and helped the injured man.
The officer spoke with some bystanders, including Swanson, who told him he was not involved in the crash and did not witness it, according to the affidavit.
But after interviewing multiple people, including one of the other passengers who’d been in the 4Runner, Pavlenko determined Swanson had been driving, according to the affidavit.
In a second interview, “Swanson admitted he was the driver and the reason he initially lied was because he got scared since this was his first time in trouble and making a ‘big mistake,’ ” the affidavit says.
Swanson told the officer he heard a snapping sound come from the 4Runner and lost control of the vehicle. He also said he consumed five to six drinks that night, according to the affidavit.
Swanson agreed to field sobriety tests, during which he gave clues of impairment, and an initial breath test returned a blood-alcohol level of 0.165, the affidavit said.
Swanson was arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run for allegedly failing to summon help for the injured passenger and lying about his involvement, according to the affidavit.
During an initial appearance Tuesday, Swanson said he planned to hire a private attorney and was granted supervised release.
The court document did not indicate whether the victim, 21-year-old Jacob A. Mitchell, has recovered from his injuries.
