Sheriff's office identifies man killed in Battle Ground crash
Firefighters with Clark County Fire District 3 responded to a fatal crash on the 20700 block of Northeast Risto Road near Battle Ground late Tuesday. The driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide after the passenger died on the scene, the Clark County Sheriff's Office said.
Originally published April 26, 2012 at 10:31 a.m., updated April 26, 2012 at 9:45 p.m.
Map
More details emerged Thursday in a car crash near Battle Ground on Tuesday that claimed the life of an 18-year-old Portland man.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office on identified Arnoux Benjamin as the victim of the crash.
Meanwhile, the driver implicated in the crash was scheduled to make a first appearance Thursday morning on suspicion of vehicular homicide. However, prosecutors said suspect Sarengaw Ham’s appearance was postponed until Friday, so a Micronesian translator can accompany him.
According to paperwork filed in Clark County Superior Court, deputies responded to the crash about 11:20 p.m. Tuesday at the 20700 block of Northeast Risto Road. They found a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria had hit a tree on the south side of the road.
Benjamin, the passenger in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.
A drug recognition expert evaluated Ham, 28, at the hospital, where he was being treated, and “determined that Ham was under the influence of alcohol and also, possibly, marijuana,” according to a probable cause affidavit signed by Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu.
Deputies also obtained a legal blood draw from Ham; results at a crime lab are pending.
A sheriff’s deputy also found an opened 12-pack box of Budweiser beer behind the driver’s seat, according to Vu’s affidavit.
Ham, whose address was not listed in court documents, is being held in the Clark County Jail.
More like this
Judge sets bail at $250,000 for vehicular homicide suspect
