Vancouver man faces vehicular homicide allegation in I-5 crash

A Vancouver man was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide after a rollover crash on Interstate 5, south of Castle Rock, killed his passenger Tuesday night, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The passenger, Faith S. Ortega, 21, of Vancouver, was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.

Tiberius A. Veazie, 24, was speeding in a Honda Civic around 6:30 p.m. on southbound I-5 at Milepost 47 when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a Volkswagen Jetta, according to a State Patrol crash memo.

Then, Veazie veered off the freeway to the right and struck a guardrail, troopers said.

He was wearing his seatbelt and subsequently taken to the hospital before being booked on the vehicular homicide allegation, according to the crash memo. Online booking records show Veazie is in custody at the Cowlitz County Jail.

Ortega was not wearing a seatbelt, troopers said. Her family was notified of her death by the Cowlitz County coroner.

The driver of the Jetta, a 37-year-old man from Chehalis, was reportedly uninjured.

Troopers cited reckless driving as the cause of the crash.