Injured girl, women ID’d in trick-or-treating crash
Two girls, ages 6 and 7, and two women were struck by a Ford Mustang
By Patty Hastings, Columbian
Social Services, Demographics, Faith
Published: November 1, 2014, 12:00am
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Emergency crews treat pedestrians who were hit by a car Friday night on a sidewalk on Northeast 112th Avenue in Vancouver.
Candy and costume pieces littered the wet, grassy hillside along Northeast 112th Avenue late Friday night after a Ford Mustang crashed into a group of Halloween trick-or-treaters.
The east Vancouver crash critically injured a 6-year-old girl, 7-year-old Cadence Boyer and 30-year-old Chelina Alsten, who all remain hospitalized. Boyer’s mother, Annie Arnold, 32, was transferred from PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland on Saturday and reported in fair condition. The parents of the 6-year-old girl asked that her name not be released.
All four live in Vancouver, said Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
The suspected driver, Duane C. Abbott, 47, was also hospitalized with less serious injuries. He will be booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of four counts of vehicular assault, Kapp said. Those charges may change depending on the conditions of the crash victims.
The crash occurred at about 8:20 p.m. Friday on Northeast 112th Avenue near 39th Street when a Ford Mustang went out of control, jumped a curb and struck the group walking on the sidewalk on the east side of 112th Avenue.
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Speed and impairment are believed to be factors in the crash, Kapp said.
Camille Selleck-Smith drove by the scene just after the crash occurred and pulled over. People were spread out along Northeast 112th Avenue, so she walked by the driver first, who was lying on his side on the ground.
“The most striking thing was he still had a lit cigarette in his mouth,” she said.
Finding a plush Halloween candy bag, she placed it under his head to support his neck. She said the man was being loud and incoherent.
Selleck-Smith stayed with the 6-year-old girl, who was drifting in and out of consciousness. The girl was dressed up in a shimmery red dress.
“I kept telling her that she was being really brave … and that she’ll see her mommy and daddy soon,” Selleck-Smith said. “I know it was pretty scary for her, but all these people were there to help her and make her feel better.”
She checked the girl’s pulse and asked questions to keep her alert, but the girl couldn’t talk and could barely acknowledge her. The girl’s parents apparently showed up, and bystanders tried to calm them down, Selleck-Smith said.
The scene was chaotic, she said, with some bystanders dressed up for Halloween. “I kept tripping on little pieces of candy. … There was so much of it. Those kids must have had so much candy.”
She stayed with the girl, putting a jacket over her to keep her warm, until she was transported by ambulance to a hospital.
Saturday morning at the crash site, some candy and car parts were still lodged in the mud. A stuffed bear was left by a tree with a note that read “sorry for your loss.”
Traffic detectives continue investigating the crash.
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