Battle Ground man accused of drunken driving in crash

A Battle Ground man who was allegedly driving under the influence when he caused a crash, injuring himself and two others, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court.

William M. Jones, 21, appeared on suspicion of vehicular assault while driving under the influence in connection with the crash early Saturday morning in the Manor area.

At about 6:40 a.m., Clark County sheriffs deputies responded to the intersection of Northeast 72nd Avenue and Northeast 179th Street for a Ford Ranger that ran a red light and collided with a Honda Accord, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Deputies smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the driver of the Ford, identified as Jones, and arrested him after he took a voluntary field-sobriety test. His license was suspended, and he had a warrant for failing to appear for driving with a suspended license, the affidavit said.

The Honda’s driver and passenger, identified as Carolyn Johnson and Kurt Johnson, were transported by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment. Firefighters had to first extricate Kurt Johnson from the vehicle. He suffered two fractured ribs, court records state.

Breath tests taken about 1 1/2 hours after the crash, found that Jones had a blood-alcohol level of 0.143 and 0.147 percent, according to court documents. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more is considered evidence of drunken driving.

Jones later had to be transported to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center for injuries to his head and hand, the affidavit said.

During his hearing, he was granted supervised release. He will be arraigned June 2.