A Quilcene man and his 4-year-old daughter were reported in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Saturday after a crash in Chimacum on Thursday.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is considering the possibility of a charge of vehicular assault against Kevin Sterling, 33, depending on the outcome of an investigation, said Chris Ashcraft, assistant prosecuting attorney.
Sterling and his daughter were seriously injured when the blue Ford Taurus sedan he was driving slid into a long skid, flew into the air for some 50 feet and landed in a wooded area 20 feet off Center Road early Thursday afternoon, emergency workers said.
The two were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where they were reported in satisfactory condition Saturday, said a hospital spokesperson.
The girl, who had been restrained in a car seat in the center of the car’s back seat, suffered critical head and arm injuries along with possible internal injuries, while the driver had a closed head injury, said East Jefferson Fire-Rescue spokesman Bill Beezley.
Ashcraft said Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies are investigating. Among other aspects, deputies are attempting to determine the car’s rate of speed at the time of the crash, he said.
Vehicular assault can be charged if a car is operated in a reckless manner, under the influence of drug or alcohol or with disregard for the safety of others and causes substantial bodily harm to another, according to state law.
Sterling’s daughter was not identified by name because she is a juvenile, said Jefferson County Sheriff’s Detective Joe Nole.
After receiving a report at 12:05 p.m. Thursday, fire department personnel found the older-model sedan nearly hidden in brush along the west side of the 3600 block of Center Road, with the girl and man on the side of the road, Beezley said.
Beezley said evidence led investigators to believe that the driver was traveling north on Center Road at a high rate of speed when he veered left out of his lane and across the oncoming lane.
The car apparently sped along the shoulder for about 100 yards with the two left-side wheels in the grass and the other two on the roadway, Beezley said.
The car hit the side of a driveway that extended across the ditch and flew over the driveway and through about 50 feet of brush before hitting a tree, he said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
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