A Woodland man pleaded not guilty Friday to vehicular homicide in the traffic death of a 76-year-old Vancouver man.
Tyler G. Peabody also entered his not-guilty plea to two counts of vehicular assault in connection to the injuries sustained by his passenger and the second driver’s passenger.
Trial was set for Oct. 24.
Peabody, who turned 21 on Aug. 18, was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and drugs the evening of Aug. 16 when he lost control of his Ford Mustang and crashed head-on into an oncoming Subaru Impreza in northern Clark County.
The driver of the Subaru, Roy Thorp, died at the scene. Peabody’s passenger, Patrick Wisniewski, 23, and Thorp’s passenger, Constance Jones, 72, were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Wisniewski was treated and released and Jones was in satisfactory condition Friday at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.
Peabody’s attorney, Lou Byrd, asked Judge Rich Melnick to reduce the $200,000 bail that was set at Peabody’s first appearance last week by Judge Robert Lewis.
Byrd said the reason for his request is because the allegation relates to an “accident.”
The judge declined. “I think it is appropriate,” Melnick said.
Passing at speed alleged
According to court documents, witnesses reported seeing Peabody driving at a high speed when he allegedly made an illegal pass in a no-passing zone in the 1100 block of Northwest Hayes Road, along the North Fork of the Lewis River.
After he lost control of the car, it started to rotate and then crossed into the eastbound lane, hitting Thorp’s Subaru, according to the documents.
Like the three others, Pea-body was taken to the hospital with injuries. A sheriff’s deputy with drug recognition training interviewed him while he was there, according to court documents, and determined he “was under the influence of intoxicating liquor and/or drugs at the time of the collision.”
When he was released from the hospital, Peabody was immediately arrested.
