DAYTON — A Port Angeles man has been charged in Eastern Washington for allegedly striking his girlfriend with a Dodge Magnum and dragging her about 30 feet under his car.
Corey A. Shaw, 34, was charged Thursday in Columbia County Superior Court with one count of vehicular assault while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Shaw posted a $20,000 bail bond Thursday. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Columbia County today.
Multiple witnesses said they heard Shaw and the alleged victim arguing outside the car in Dayton, a small city northeast of Walla Walla, before hearing the woman screaming at about 7:26 p.m. Oct. 2, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
One witness said Shaw drove in reverse, stopped and continued traveling in reverse as the woman screamed.
“There was a large amount of blood and hair on the roadway,” Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy B.C. Ehr said in the arrest narrative.
“I measured from the point it appeared [the woman] hit the roadway to where the vehicle stopped. [The woman] was pulled and drug under the vehicle for approximately 30 feet before the vehicle came to a stop.”
The 32-year-old woman had road rash and blood coming from the side of her head, Ehr said in the arrest narrative.
She was flown from Dayton General Hospital to a Spokane hospital due to her injuries, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reported.
Shaw had difficulty standing up and relied on Ehr to walk about 10 feet to his patrol car, Ehr said in court papers.
He had bloodshot eyes and a “very strong odor of intoxicants from his breath,” Ehr said.
Shaw said he “just couldn’t remember” what had happened, Ehr said.
“Corey then went on to tell me he was backing up out of the driveway and when he pulled away he figured out his girlfriend was underneath the vehicle,” Ehr said.
Shaw would not submit to a voluntary breath test, Ehr said.
He appeared to have a “medical emergency” as the officer read him his Miranda rights, Ehr said.
“Corey stated as he slowly lowered himself to the ground that he was having a seizure,” Ehr said.
Shaw was taken to a nearby hospital under the watch of Columbia County Undersheriff Robbie Patterson, Ehr said.
Shaw allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana before the incident, Ehr said.
A Columbia County judge approved a blood search warrant to collect a sample of Shaw’s blood for analysis.
“While I was at the hospital Corey stated this is why he does not drink because things always happen,” Ehr said.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
