A Portland man is accused of driving drunk during a crash that killed his passenger in February 2023 at state Highway 500 and Interstate 205.
Warren Dickinson, 49, appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on a summons for a charge of vehicular homicide.
Judge Robert Lewis placed him on supervised release and ordered he be subject to an alcohol-monitoring bracelet and an ignition interlock device on any car he drives.
Dickinson’s defense attorney, Jon McMullen, said Dickinson has been in treatment during the year since the crash.
Washington State Patrol troopers responded at 11:16 p.m. Feb. 1, 2023, to a single-vehicle crash at westbound Highway 500 and southbound I-205. Dickinson was driving a Kia Stinger when he failed to negotiate the curved onramp and left the roadway, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The car struck the concrete jersey barrier and rolled over it. It came to rest back on its wheels in the left lane of I-205 south against a jersey barrier, court records state.
The passenger, identified as Dennis J. Coplin, 50, of Woodland, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the affidavit.
Dickinson was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for treatment for a fractured leg and clavicle, according to court records.
Toxicology testing of Dickinson’s blood showed he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.11, the affidavit states. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 is considered evidence of drunken driving.
