A Ridgefield man appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and causing the death of a friend in a single-vehicle crash late Sunday in Vancouver.
Ian J. Cole, 20, also is accused of leaving the scene of the accident.
The Columbian is not naming the deceased man until authorities confirm his next of kin have been notified.
Two other passengers, Maxwell Borders, 19, address not known, and Benjamin Folk, 25, of Vancouver, were seriously injured. Vancouver police said in a probable cause affidavit filed in court that Folk has a severe brain hemorrhage and may not survive.
Cole is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges of vehicular homicide, hit-and-run death, two counts of hit-and-run injury and DUI. Judge Suzan Clark held Cole on $150,000 bail and appointed Vancouver attorney Sean Downs to defend him.
Cole was driving his 2003 Ford Mustang under the influence of alcohol and marijuana around 8:43 p.m. while three passengers were in his vehicle, according to the affidavit. He was driving recklessly and speeding when he lost control of his car and hit a telephone pole in the 100 block of Southeast Columbia Boulevard, said Deputy Prosecutor Julie Carmena.
Witnesses: High-speed turns
Witnesses said that Cole’s vehicle had been doing high speed 360-degree turns (doughnuts) near the intersection of Columbia Way and Columbia Shores, according to court documents.
Cole is accused of fleeing the accident scene on foot and calling his fiancee to pick him up.
When he saw Folk unresponsive in his vehicle, ” ‘I ran; I freaked,’ ” Cole told police, according to court documents.
He said he was feeling “buzzed” from marijuana and alcohol at the time of the collision, the documents state.
Folk and Borders were transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. Borders was treated and released from the emergency department. Folk was in critical condition Monday in the hospital’s intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The Columbian in Monday’s paper incorrectly stated that the driver of the Mustang was killed in the accident.
