A man who crashed his vehicle into a tree in Winlock Tuesday afternoon is now facing a felony DUI charge.
Brenden Keith Banta, 28, of Vader, allegedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.135 when he lost control of his white Kia and drove it off the roadway and through a fence in the 200 block of South Military Road before crashing into a tree at about 2:19 p.m. on Dec. 23.
When contacted by a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy at the scene of the crash, Banta allegedly identified himself as the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle.
The deputy reported that he could smell the odor of alcohol on Banta’s breath while standing about 2 feet away from him and saw a partially crushed 24-ounce beer can inside the vehicle. Banta allegedly refused to perform standardized field sobriety tests when asked, but agreed to take a breathalyzer test after the deputy talked to a witness, according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
The witness reported that Banta’s Kia passed her at a high rate of speed in a curve with no passing zone about a mile before the crash, according to court documents.
The witness’s children in the backseat at the time reportedly “asked her if this was the freeway when Banta's vehicle passed by them.”
The witness said she didn’t see the crash, but recognized the wrecked vehicle “immediately” when they passed it.
Banta allegedly said he “did not really know how fast he was going” and said he believed he left the roadway because it was slick.
The deputy reported that Banta “apologized multiple times for what he had done,” according to court documents.
Banta’s criminal history includes a 2017 vehicular assault conviction, according to court documents.
Banta had his preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Dec. 24.
