An 18-year-old Battle Ground man who faces allegations of vehicular assault and hit-and-run injury made an initial appearance in Clark County Superior Court on Tuesday morning.
David A. Fabyanchuk was arrested Sunday night after he allegedly caused a pileup on state Highway 14 at the Columbia Shores exit one mile east of downtown Vancouver.
Washington State Patrol said Fabyanchuk was driving an older yellow BMW coupe too fast when he rear-ended another vehicle at the eastbound offramp. The force of the collision propelled the vehicle into a third vehicle.
The crash was reported at 5:30 p.m. A responding officer found the BMW parked about a half-mile away from the crash. Fabyanchuk had ditched the BMW and hopped a nearby fence; he was found south of the fence, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Fabyanchuk told the officer he’d been the only occupant of the sedan. The officer reported smelling alcohol on the teenager, finding a BMW key in Fabyanchuk’s pocket and observing seat belt marks on the left side of the young man’s chest and shoulder, according to the affidavit.
“When the officer asked how much alcohol (Fabyanchuk) drank he said, ‘too much,’ ” the affidavit says.
A preliminary breath test registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.156, according to the affidavit. Court records say his blood-alcohol level was 0.101 when he was booked into Clark County Jail several hours after his arrest. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more is considered evidence of drunken driving.
The driver and a passenger in the car struck first in the pileup, a Subaru Legacy, suffered serious injuries. Court records say the driver sustained a cracked sternum, broken ribs and a punctured lung while the passenger had a broken nose and cheek.
Superior Court Judge Daniel Stahnke set bail at $25,000. Fabyanchuk’s arraignment hearing was scheduled for June 8.
