Four people were injured in a crash on state Highway 500 on Sunday afternoon when a suspected drunk driver got on the highway going the wrong direction, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Scott F. Fitzgerald, 51, of Vancouver is facing allegations of driving under the influence and vehicular assault. He was booked into the Clark County Jail on the vehicular assault charge. His bail was set at $5,000.
According to a Washington State Patrol crash memo, Fitzgerald drove a Jeep Cherokee onto Highway 500 from Northeast Andresen Road heading west in the eastbound lanes about 4:40 p.m.
While still on the ramp, he struck a Jeep Gladiator driven by Anatoliy Hvozd, 23, of Vancouver. Hvozd and his passengers — 21-year-old Daniel Labach and Maxim Myno, 18, both of Vancouver — were wearing seat belts and were not injured.
Fitzgerald continued westbound onto Highway 500 and struck a Kia Soul driven by Derek Stirek. Stirek and passenger Laury Andrade, both 33 of Vancouver, were injured and transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. Stirek was wearing a seat belt but the State Patrol did not know if Andrade was wearing one.
Fitzgerald then hit a Ford Escape driven by Connie Lynch, 68, of Vancouver, who was also taken to PeaceHealth.
Fitzgerald’s Jeep stopped facing west in the eastbound lanes just west of Andresen. He was also taken to PeaceHealth for evaluation and treatment of injuries before being booked into jail.
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, both eastbound lanes were blocked for several hours for the investigation.
Fitzgerald’s Jeep, the Ford Escape and the Kia Soul were all declared total losses.
