Texting blamed in crash for second time in two days

For the second time in two days, a text-messaging driver caused a collision, this time a rear-end crash on state Highway 500 on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

About 2:15 p.m., Gina M. Turnbull, 20, of Camas was driving east near Stapleton Road when two cars ahead of her stopped for traffic, according to a bulletin from the Washington State Patrol.

Turnbull’s vehicle hit the rear of a 2003 Mitsubishi, knocking it into the back of a 2010 Toyota Corolla. All three vehicles were totaled, the bulletin said.

The driver of the Mitsubishi, Tamara Lyashchina, 51, of Vancouver suffered an injured neck and back and was taken to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. Early Wednesday evening, she was in the emergency department being evaluated and her condition hadn’t been reported, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Hope C. Jensen, 23, of Beaverton, Ore., the driver of the Toyota, was treated at Southwest Washington Medical Center and released, an employee said.

Turnbull was not reported injured. She was ticketed for text-ing while driving and following too close, the bulletin said.

On Tuesday afternoon, a suspected texting driver, Michael Titeiu, 18, of Vancouver veered into an oncoming lane and caused a head-on crash on Lakeshore Avenue, officials said. Both drivers were taken to hospitals.

On June 10, texting and talking on cell phones while driving becomes a primary offense under a new state law, meaning that police can pull drivers over and ticket them if they see the violation.

The Washington State Patrol has said enforcement and ticketing will begin on that day, with no grace period.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.