A Vancouver woman driving the wrong way on state Highway 14 was killed Wednesday night when she caused a multivehicle crash, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Ryan M. Smith, 25, of Vancouver died at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to a State Patrol crash memo.
Two other people were injured in the crash near the Ellsworth exit, west of Interstate 205.
According to the State Patrol, Smith was traveling east in the westbound lanes of Highway 14 in a 2007 Volvo S40 shortly before 11 p.m. when she hit a 2009 Mazda MX driven by Zion Farias Vasquez, 25, of The Dalles, Ore., who was not injured. He was wearing a seat belt.
Smith continued, hitting a 2022 Volkswagen Passat driven by Anca M. Romonti, 40, of Hillsboro, Ore. Both Romonti and an unnamed juvenile passenger, who were both wearing seat belts, were injured and taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. There was no further information on the extent of their injuries.
The Volkswagen driven by Romonti then hit a Toyota Camry. The driver, Tong T. Nguyen, 68, and passengers Nho T. Huynh, 77, and Thu K. Nguyen Tran, 67, all of Vancouver, were not injured; they were all wearing seat belts.
All four vehicles ended up blocking all westbound lanes of the highway.
The State Patrol said drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, and DUI charges were referred against Farias Vasquez.
Editor’s note: This story and headline were updated to reflect DUI charges were referred against Zion Farias Vasquez. An earlier version named the wrong driver as being suspected of DUI.
