The 71-year-old driver of a Jeep Cherokee has been arrested after he ran over and killed two sunbathers at the Sand Swimming Hole in Washougal, Washington.
Local media reports that elderly driver David E. Croswell drove into the park and onto the beach at approximately 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. He was seen driving erratically throughout the area and struck Rudolf and Regina Hohstadt, a couple in their 60s from Germany who were visiting family in the local area. Croswell soon sped off and crashed through a park sign as he left the scene.
The German couple survived the initial impact but succumbed to their injuries due to their injuries.
UPDATE: Court docs state Washougal man suspected of running over German couple was drunk, son-in-law turned him into police https://t.co/nmIXshRAVh pic.twitter.com/Z6vRK03enf
— FOX 12 Oregon (@fox12oregon) June 26, 2019
Police were alerted to the whereabouts of Croswell after his son-in-law called 911 after realizing that his father-in-law’s Cherokee had been crashed and matched the description of the suspect’s vehicle. The driver was swiftly taken into custody.
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The Columbian reports that the man faces two counts of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of intoxicants and two counts of hit-and-run resulting in death. Authorities performed a preliminary breath test on Croswell nearly four hours after the crash and found that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.085, over the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.08 in the state.
Croswell suffers from a number of medical problems, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his court-appointed attorney Shon Bogar said, indicating that the nearby Clark County Jail has “inadequate provisions” to accommodate his medical needs. Judge Gregory Gonzales set Croswell’s bail at $500,000 and he will be arraigned on July 10.
#ICYMI Washougal man, 71, faces vehicular homicide allegations in swimming hole deaths; Bail set at $500,000 in crash that killed two German tourists https://t.co/DYDitQJsKl pic.twitter.com/HcCwfZ999n
— The Columbian (@thecolumbian) June 27, 2019
A look at the scene where two people died after police say a Jeep Cherokee ran them over on the beach at Sandy swimming hole in Washougal. #KOIN6News pic.twitter.com/LSTWjbCJ4f
— Velena Jones (@velenajones) June 26, 2019