Speed and alcohol likely factors in wreck, police say

Speed and alcohol were likely factors in a four-vehicle wreck in Fisher’s Landing late Sunday night that forced firefighters to use hydraulic tools to cut and pry at the doors of a car to free two women and a boy.

Thomas Costello, 55, of Vancouver has not been cited, a Vancouver police spokeswoman said Wednesday. He was the driver of a vehicle that slammed into three others waiting to turn left from Southeast 164th Avenue onto westbound Southeast 12th Street. The crash was reported at 10:06 p.m. with firefighters arriving four minutes later.

Kyle Widner, 11, and his mother, Dixie Widner, 34, were both transported to an area hospital where they were treated and released. They’ve also been reunited with Kera, a tan, mix-breed dog that fled the crash scene.

Odelia Garcia, 80, of Vancouver was sitting in the front seat of Widner’s Kia Spectrum. She remains hospitalized in satisfactory condition, according to an official at Southwest Washington Medical Center.

The Kia was the in the back of a three-vehicle line struck by Costello.

Multiple people in other vehicles were treated on scene for minor injuries. No one else was believed to have been transported, said Kim Kapp, the police spokeswoman.

The Vancouver Police Department Traffic Unit is investigating. They worked late into Sunday night reconstructing the crash in an effort to determine how fast Costello was traveling.

It could take several weeks for test results to return and show whether Costello had been using alcohol or drugs.

“The investigation is still very active,” Kapp said.