Battle Ground teen appears in court in crash

A Battle Ground teen who allegedly caused a head-on collision near Lewisville Park early on Memorial Day told Washington State Patrol troopers he had too much to drink and shouldn’t have been driving, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Andrew D. Daniel 19, appeared Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court on an allegation of vehicular assault stemming from the two-vehicle crash that occurred about 1:35 a.m. on state Highway 503.

A witness told troopers that he saw a red Toyota 4Runner, driven by Daniel, driving erratically on Main Street in Battle Ground. The SUV swerved out of its lane several times and proceeded north on the highway, drifting out of its lane. As it approached Lewisville, it drifted left across the southbound lane and onto the shoulder before attempting to move back to its lane, the affidavit states.

The SUV then collided head-on with another SUV traveling south in the southbound lane. The driver of the other vehicle, Stephanie Patterson, suffered a broken ankle, clavicle and rib, court records said. She was in satisfactory condition Tuesday at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, a spokesperson said.

Troopers said they could smell the odor of alcohol on Daniel’s breath. His eyes were bloodshot and watery, and his speech was slurred. He was unsteady on his feet and swayed, and misplaced several items, such as his driver’s license, according to court documents.

Daniel reportedly told troopers he drank five beers before the crash. A preliminary breath test found he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.172, court records state, more than twice the legal limit. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 is considered evidence of drunken driving.

Daniel was granted supervised release at his hearing and plans to hire his own attorney, court records show. He will be arraigned June 13.