Camas man still in critical condition after crash

A Camas man critically injured when he was struck by a minivan Sunday would have missed his Rotary Club’s annual Christmas party today, but the group decided to bring the party to him.

At 9 p.m., members of the Rotary Club of Greater Clark County will sing carols in the lobby of PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, where member Rich Irvine is being treated in the intensive care unit.

Just before 6 a.m. Sunday, Irvine apparently saw a pickup rear-end a blue Honda CRV on Interstate 205 and drive away. He pulled his car to the right shoulder and crossed freeway lanes to help the driver in the CRV, which had careened into a concrete barrier on the left side of the freeway. As he approached the CRV, a Honda Odyssey minivan driven by 41-year-old Fredy Delacruz-Moreno of Seattle struck the CRV and Irvine, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Irvine and the CRV’s driver, Steven M. Klase, 25, of Battle Ground were hospitalized. Klase is in satisfactory condition, and Irvine remains in critical condition, hospital staff said Wednesday. Irvine’s wife reported that he had bleeding in the brain and spinal fractures, along with a less serious pelvic injury.

To help pay Irvine’s medical bills, more than $18,000 has been raised at www.gofundme.com/ig105w.

Charges are still pending, said WSP Trooper Will Finn. The agency found the pickup that had fled the crash, a white 2006 Ford F-150, abandoned in Vancouver. Investigators are still analyzing the vehicle, Finn said. Although investigators have a person of interest in the case, they’re not releasing more information until the investigation is wrapped up.

“We have to take the event and go step by step through it,” Finn said. “We want to make sure we’re accurate.”