The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office has arrested an 18-year-old Rochester man for five counts of vehicular assault and three counts of reckless driving stemming from a July 14 collision in Grand Mound.
The crash was reported as “a two-vehicle, mass casualty ALS entrapment collision” by the sheriff’s office in a Facebook post at 5:41 p.m. on July 14.
According to the sheriff’s office, a Chevrolet S10 ran a stop sign at the intersection of Guava Street and Southwest 188th Avenue Southwest in Grand Mound and struck a silver Hyundai Tucson, which then rolled into an empty retention pond.
The intersection was shut down for an extended period of time on July 14 as medical crews and detectives were on the scene.
The S10 had four occupants at the time of the crash: the 18-year-old male driver, a front passenger and two passengers in the truck bed. Both passengers in the truck bed were ejected from the vehicle. One of them was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment while the other was transported to a local hospital. The two occupants of the Tucson were also transported to a local hospital for serious injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.
“In total, five people were transported and treated for serious injuries as a result of the collision,” the sheriff’s office stated in a news release on Tuesday.
“Since the collision, deputies have continued investigating claims that the S10 drove recklessly and intentionally ran the stop sign,” the sheriff's office stated in the release. “Based on their investigation, they developed probable cause for the arrest of the driver of the S10.”
The 18-year-old man, who is in custody at the Thurston County Jail, had not been identified by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office as of Wednesday afternoon.
The sheriff’s office ended its news release on the incident with a public safety announcement.
“There has been a drastic increase in reckless driving behavior promoted by social media. These behaviors are dangerous, unlawful and risky,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Please remember, your actions while driving will not affect only you, your family, friends and those around you or other drivers. In this case, five people were seriously injured and required hospitalization and a life-flight helicopter, all of which could have been avoided.”
