A 55-year-old woman walking her dog was seriously injured Tuesday morning after a driver turning a Ford F-150 pickup truck struck her in a marked crosswalk at NE 137th Avenue and NE 99th Street in Orchards, an unincorporated community in Clark County. The woman was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, while her dog was not hurt in the crash, which happened just before 9 a.m. as she crossed the street, according to deputies.
According to KGW, the driver had been traveling eastbound on NE 99th Street before turning right onto NE 137th Avenue and striking the woman. The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, per KATU. Deputies said the driver may have been impaired and released the driver pending toxicology results and the completion of the investigation.
Toxicology results remain pending, and whether the driver faces charges will hinge on what those tests show. Under Washington’s RCW 46.61.522, a driver who is impaired by drugs or alcohol and causes substantial bodily harm to another person can be charged with felony vehicular assault, a Class B felony carrying up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines. State law defines substantial bodily harm to include bone fractures or serious internal injuries.
What Washington Law Requires at Crosswalks
Washington drivers approaching an intersection or crosswalk are legally required to stop and remain stopped for pedestrians crossing within marked or unmarked crosswalks, whenever the pedestrian is in or within one lane of the driver’s half of the roadway, under RCW 46.61.235. The law applies even at intersections without painted markings, since Washington recognizes all public road intersections as legal crosswalks…