SEQUIM — A 19-year-old Sequim man is facing two counts of vehicular assault more than a year after a wreck in which his vehicle was airborne for about 55 feet before striking an embankment and rolling three times, seriously injuring two passengers.
Charges were filed Monday in Clallam County Superior Court against Elijah R. Sanford, whose first court appearance on the charges is at 9 a.m. Jan. 2.
At about 1:52 a.m. Nov. 24, 2013, Sanford, then 18, was driving his 1991 Volkswagen Golf GTI eastbound on Heuhslein Road with passengers Garrett Payton, then 19, of Port Angeles and 15-year-old Cailey R. Stipe of Sequim, according to law enforcement and court records.
Payton was wearing a seat belt, while Stipe was not.
Beer containers were strewn over the wreck site, according to the arrest report, signed Nov. 12, 2014, by county Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Ley.
Sanford’s blood-alcohol level was 0.05 percent after the crash, according to a portable Breathalyzer test, Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said Tuesday.
The legal limit is 0.08 percent.
John Troberg, chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, said Stipe, who received multiple fractures resulting from the crash, may face more medical procedures in the future.
Payton is “basically OK,” Troberg said.
“We’re not expecting any additional procedures.”
Sanford, who received abrasions, did not require hospitalization, Peregrin said.
Ley’s recent arrest report contains the following account of the wreck:
It was shortly before 2 a.m. Nov. 24 when Sanford exited a slight curve and entered a straightaway. His brakes locked at about the 1000 block of Heuhslein between Old Olympic Highway and U.S. Highway 101.
Sanford’s vehicle skidded about 95 feet in the eastbound road-shoulder ditch, crossed an irrigation canal and sailed through the air for about 55 feet before striking a dirt embankment and landing on the driver’s side.
It rolled three times before going over a 4-foot berm and coming to rest in a berry patch at a 1000-block Heuhslein Road farm.
The length of the wreck scene — from the beginning of the skid to the spot the car landed — was about 300 feet.
Sanford told authorities he swerved on ice.
The temperature was 31 degrees, and patchy areas of moisture were on the roadway.
Stipe was ejected through the rear hatch door window before the Volkswagen came to rest.
She was treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for fractures to her face, clavicle, right hand and right wrist.
She also was treated for pulmonary contusions.
Her hair was caught in the antennae cable at the top of the hatch where she was ejected.
Payton, who also was treated at Harborview, suffered a forehead wound, dislocated elbow, left arm fracture and liver and spleen lacerations.
His injuries were consistent with the position of the seat belt, the crushed cab and damage to the car’s dashboard.
Sanford received minor abrasions, the Sheriff’s Office said after the mishap.
The vehicular assault counts combined carry a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Sanford was arrested the same day at the wreck for investigation of vehicular assault, reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
He was released without bail the following day, on Nov. 25, 2013.
The Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, and the State Patrol conducted a peer review of the report.
“Oftentimes, in serious accident cases, it takes a long time to complete the accident investigative analysis,” Peregrin said.
The State Patrol received the case the last week of August and released it to Clallam County authorities at the end of September, State Patrol spokesman Lt. Shane Nelson said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
