A 35-year-old Vancouver man involved in a crash Sunday on state Highway 14 that hospitalized two people faces four charges in Clark County District Court.
Court documents show Sean E. Seager pleaded not guilty Monday to driving under the influence, hit-and-run attended (vehicle damage), an ignition interlock violation and first-degree driving with a suspended or revoked license.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Seager was convicted of DUI within the past 10 years. Notes on a pre-trial agreement note that Seager had a local DUI conviction in 2012 and another in 2008 in Oregon.
His license was revoked, and he was supposed to have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle. Washington State Patrol troopers who inspected his vehicle after the crash did not find the device, according to the affidavit.
Troopers reported Sunday that at about 6 a.m., Seager was heading east in the westbound lanes of Highway 14.
Near the Interstate 205 overpass, Seager’s Ford Focus station wagon rammed head-on into a Toyota Tacoma pickup driven by Eric E. Smith, 33, of Vancouver, according to the state patrol.
The impact sent Smith’s pickup onto its top and sideways in the left lane, and Seager’s car went into the right lane, both blocking the way. A third vehicle, driven by Bryan T. Pope, 25, of Vancouver, struck Smith’s pickup, the state patrol said.
The Vancouver Fire Department said Seager fled on foot before later returning to the scene.
A trooper spoke with Seager, who was receiving medical treatment in the back of an ambulance. The trooper said Seager, who matched the description of the driver who ran from the scene, had a large gash on his head and blood down his face, according to the affidavit.
“The subject smelled strongly of intoxicants and had slurred speech,” the affidavit says.
Smith was taken to the Vancouver Campus of the VA Portland Health Care System. The Vancouver Fire Department described his injuries as relatively minor. Pope was uninjured, troopers said, and his Toyota Corolla sedan was towed away with moderate damage.
Seager was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for his injuries. The trooper also spoke with the DUI suspect there, but cut the interview short because Seager “kept interrupting stating, ‘I don’t understand,’ ” and became belligerent and aggressive when he was informed he was under arrest for driving under the influence, the affidavit says.
In a pre-trial agreement, the prosecution recommended that Seager receive a 425-day sentence for his alleged crimes, but it also filed a demand for a jury trial.
