Clinton man charged in highway crash

By JESSIE STENSLAND
South Whidbey Record Staff Reporter
March 1, 2013 · Updated 3:50 PM 

An 83-year-old Clinton man is facing possible jail time for causing an accident that seriously injured another driver Dec. 26, 2012, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Oran G. Downs in Island County Superior Court Feb. 25 with vehicle assault.

He could face from one to nine months in jail if convicted.

A trooper with the Washington State Patrol investigated the crash that occurred on State Highway 525 at the driveway for the South Whidbey American Legion.

Downs was driving a 2002 Chevrolet pickup and pulled out of the driveway into the path of a 2000 Chrysler minivan driven by 37-year-old Langley resident Heather Kelley.

The minivan struck the driver’s door of Downs’ pickup.

Kelley sustained a fractured ankle and a “brain bleed,” according to the trooper’s report.

She was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and Hospital in Seattle for treatment.

Neither Downs nor his passenger were injured.

Downs admitted that he drank whiskey at the American Legion prior to the collision.

A toxicology analysis showed that Downs’ blood-alcohol level was 0.10 percent, while the legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent, the trooper wrote.

 

Contact South Whidbey Record Staff Reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com.

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