PORT ANGELES — Bail was set Wednesday at $350,000 for Engre Louise Brown of Sequim, who will be arraigned on Tuesday on a charge of vehicular homicide in the Oct. 8 death of Benjamin Michael Merscher.
Brown, 28, made her first appearance Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Ken Williams. She remained in custody in the Clallam County jail late Wednesday.
The State Patrol said Brown, whose license had been revoked, was driving under the influence of alcohol when she drove head-on into a car driven by 25-year-old Merscher, also of Sequim, on U.S. Highway 101 near Kitchen-Dick Road.
Merscher was pronounced dead at the wreck.
Brown, who attended court Wednesday in a wheelchair, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with leg and internal injuries after the wreck in October.
She was released Tuesday into the custody of the State Patrol from Island Health and Rehabilitation in Bainbridge Island.
Answers warrant
Brown also appeared in Clallam County District Court on Wednesday on a probation violation, for which a warrant had been issued. She was ordered to reappear in court on the violation today.
Because of several other warrants issued in the past for probation violations and missed court appearances, District Court Judge Rick Porter increased the bail on the probation violation from $1,000 to $5,000.
If Brown posts her bails, travel would be restricted to Western Washington.
Merscher graduated from the University of Oregon with a business degree in June 2007.
He worked at Sequim Costco Wholesale, and was considering obtaining a master’s degree.
Ron Sukert, Clallam County jail superintendent, said Brown has been placed in a medical room at the jail, which has a bed low to the ground.
He said the jail will work with doctors she had already been seeing, such as at the rehabilitation center.
He said he doesn’t know if she will be able to walk again.
Court records show that, before the Oct. 8 wreck, Brown had been found guilty of a variety of driving offenses since 2000, and had failed to appear for scheduled hearings several times.
Her suspended license status was increased from second degree to first degree in August for repeated violations.
Both degrees bar Brown from getting a driver’s license.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
