A 17-year-old driver was seriously injured Saturday night after crashing head-on into a concrete retaining wall near Fourth Plain Boulevard and St. Francis Lane in Vancouver, forcing firefighters to remove a door from the vehicle to pull the teen free. The collision left the vehicle with significant damage, and the driver was rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries.
According to the Vancouver Police Department, officers responded to the serious single-vehicle collision on August 22 near the intersection where the crash occurred. Investigators believe speed and impairment were factors in the crash, though the department says nothing further is releasable at this time. The Vancouver Police Department Traffic Unit is continuing its investigation into exactly what led up to the crash.
The teenager’s age raises specific legal questions for whatever comes next. Under Washington’s zero-tolerance statute, RCW 46.61.503, drivers under 21 face an automatic license suspension of at least 90 days if their blood alcohol concentration is found to be 0.02% or higher, according to Milios Defense. If investigators determine the teen showed appreciable impairment or registered a BAC of 0.08% or higher, Washington’s standard DUI law, RCW 46.61.502, would allow prosecutors to pursue a full adult gross misdemeanor DUI charge, carrying up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine, per the Sullivan Law Group. Toxicology results, the driver’s exact speed at impact, and whether charges will be filed through juvenile court remain open questions as the Traffic Unit’s investigation continues.
A Corridor With a Troubled Safety Record
The crash adds another entry to a rough stretch for Fourth Plain Boulevard, which the City of Vancouver’s Local Road Safety Plan designates as a high-crash arterial segment among the city’s top corridors for crash frequency and severe collisions. The major east-west commercial and transit arterial also carries C-TRAN’s Vine bus rapid transit route, and the city has scheduled pavement management and resurfacing work along West Fourth Plain Boulevard for this summer as part of its capital improvement planning, according to Vancouver Public Works…