LONGVIEW — A Vancouver man has been identified as the person killed in a single-vehicle crash following a police pursuit in May in Longview.
Dyami E. Cortez, 22, of Vancouver died in the May 17 crash from blunt force trauma to the head. His death was ruled an accident, according to the Cowlitz County Coroner.
Emergency personnel declared Cortez dead at the scene, near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Ocean Beach Highway.
Longview Police Capt. Branden McNew said an officer saw a speeding Impala weaving in and out of lanes, but the driver wouldn’t pull over when police tried to stop him.
Longview police say Cortez headed eastbound on Ocean Beach Highway, almost causing multiple collisions before striking a curb and hitting a Farmers Insurance building at 805 Ocean Beach Hwy. The car flipped, landing upside down, in the southbound lanes of Eighth Avenue.
McNew said a Washington State Patrol toxicology report showed Cortez had alcohol, fentanyl and meth in his system.
After the accident, police said the Impala was linked to shoplifting report in Woodland earlier in the day, and Cortez also had active felony and misdemeanor warrants.
The accident caused damage to the Farmers building, a sign and a Cowlitz PUD transformer and knocked down a streetlight.
McNew said an internal investigation into the police pursuit shows no department policy or state law violations occurred.
