Prosecutors intend to file a charge of vehicular homicide against an 18-year-old Vancouver man after the pedestrian victim in a Sunday crash died Monday morning.
Jose C. Montoya Sanchez appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of vehicular assault, hit-and-run resulting in injury and a gross misdemeanor of driving under the influence of intoxicants. His bail was set at $250,000, and he is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 14.
Deputy Prosecutor Scott Ikata said the victim in the crash, identified as Dominique Easter, was placed on life support at an area hospital until the family could arrive. He has since died, and Ikata said the assigned prosecutor intends to amend the vehicular assault allegation to vehicular homicide.
Vancouver police responded at 6:51 p.m. to the 4300 block of Northeast Andresen Road for reports of a serious-injury crash. The 911 caller reported a pedestrian was hit by a silver Subaru, which continued driving south before turning west onto Northeast 40th Street, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police and medical personnel arrived to find a man, later identified as Easter, lying unresponsive in the northbound bike lane.
While officers were still on scene of the crash, a man, later identified as Montoya Sanchez, arrived in the passenger seat of a black SUV, accompanied by his uncle, according to court records.
Police say Montoya Sanchez admitted he struck Easter with his car and drove away, the affidavit states.
He told officers he parked his car at Northeast 44th Street and St. Johns Road. Police drove there and found a silver Subaru Impreza with significant front-end damage and a large hole in the windshield, according to court records.
Montoya Sanchez was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center to be treated for a laceration near his right eye, the affidavit states.
At the hospital, officers said Montoya Sanchez told them he saw Easter in the roadway but didn’t think he’d continue to cross. He said he hit Easter when Easter kept walking into the road, court records state. He said he believed he was driving between 35 and 40 mph.
Investigators observed debris beginning in the southbound lanes of Andresen Road and spanning about 100 feet to the northbound bike lane, which led them to believe the collision occurred at a high rate of speed, according to court records.
Officers observed signs that Montoya Sanchez might be intoxicated and smelled intoxicants on his breath, according to the affidavit. Police say he told them he drank one beer before he drove to the bank to get money to pay his rent. He was on his way home when the crash occurred.
He told officers he was very scared after the crash and drove away, court records state. He said he called his uncle, who told him to turn himself in.
A preliminary breath test showed Montoya Sanchez had a blood-alcohol content of 0.079, according to the affidavit. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 is considered evidence of drunken driving. His blood was sent to the state crime lab for toxicology results.
