Washougal man appears in court in May 10 crash

A Washougal man wanted in a May crash, in which he was allegedly driving drunk, speeding and fleeing a pursuing police car, appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court.

Andrey V. Altman, 23, appeared on suspicion of two counts of vehicular assault, attempting to elude, reckless driving, forgery, driving while under the influence and first-degree driving with a suspended or revoked license. An arrest warrant was issued in August after Altman failed to show up for court.

Judge Gregory Gonzales appointed Altman an attorney and set his bail at $200,000. He will be arraigned Dec. 2.

At about 9 p.m. May 10, Altman was driving a silver Infiniti west in the 100 block of Southeast Columbia Way when he passed a vehicle at high speed. A police patrol car attempted to stop Altman, but he failed to yield and fled. He was allegedly traveling 77 mph in a 25 mph zone, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Altman lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree. One of his passengers was ejected from the vehicle, police said. All four occupants of the vehicle were taken to an area hospital. Two passengers sustained significant injuries, including lacerations to the face, scalp and arm, and several fractures and internal injuries, the affidavit states.

Police said Altman didn’t have license plates and was in possession of an expired trip permit, according to court documents. Toxicology results found he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent, the affidavit said. In Washington, a level of 0.08 percent is considered evidence of drunken driving.