Five to hospital after four-car crash on I-205 in Vancouver

A Vancouver man will face a vehicular assault charge after a four-vehicle crash late Friday that sent five people to the hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The crash occurred at 10:25 p.m. on Interstate 205 when southbound traffic came to a stop north of Padden Parkway and a 2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer driven in the left lane by Michael D. West, 49, of Vancouver struck a 2001 Daewoo Leganza driven by Dolores M. Glafka, 69, of Vancouver, causing Glafka’s car to spin and hit a left-side guardrail, a WSP bulletin said.

West’s SUV then struck a 2005 Nissan Sentra driven in the right lane by Diana I. Tihohod, 18, of Vancouver, and Tihohod’s car then hit a 2007 Mazda CX7 driven by Mitica Dumitru, 53, of New Westminster, B.C.

West, Glafka and Tihohod were injured and transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, the WSP said. West and Glafka were listed in satisfactory condition Saturday evening. Tihohod was treated and released.

Sheila Owsley, 46, of Vancouver, a passenger in West’s vehicle, and Angelina Beyu, 17, of Vancouver, who was a passenger in Tihohod’s vehicle were also injured and transported to PeaceHealth.

Owsley was in critical condition Saturday evening. Beyu was treated and released.

Neither Dumitru nor his passenger, Viorica Dumitru, 46, of New Westminster, B.C. were injured.

The WSP bulletin did not say why traffic had come to a stop on the freeway. It said the cause of the crash was speeding, and said West would face vehicular assault charges in connection with the crash.

According to Washington law, a driver may be found guilty of vehicular assault if they drive recklessly or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and cause significant bodily harm to another.

The investigation and clean-up closed the southbound freeway lanes until early Saturday morning, according to WSDOT, and clogged traffic leaving the Clark County fairgrounds.