
Father and 6-year-old son struck while walking along NE 137th Avenue
VANCOUVER – On Wednesday (Sept. 17) at about 1:20 p.m., Vancouver Police responded to the 6400 block of NE 137th Avenue for the report that a man and a child (father and son) who were walking, were hit by a vehicle.
The man was found lying in the roadway when emergency responders arrived; he did not survive his injuries. The child, 6 years old, was found in a ditch approximately 10 feet from the crash site. He was transported to Randall Children’s Hospital in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
The driver, 73-years-old James H. Paulson, was located at the scene by police and was arrested for 2 counts of Vehicular Homicide. Reckless driving and speed are factors in the crash as well as possible impairment.
The Vancouver Police Department Traffic Unit is continuing the investigation. Nothing further is releasable at this time.
Information provided by the Vancouver Police Department.
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Were they in the crosswalk when they were hit, or alongside the road?? Not at all clear about what happened here, other than the driver is being charged with DUI and 2 counts of vehicular manslaughter.
Need more info on this one…
This driver is toast. He admits to vaping, lots of eye witnesses to his erratic driving…the judge set his bail at $1.5 million. He isn’t going anywhere but the State Crossbar Motel. He will be checking in, but I doubt he will ever check out.
All of you Vancouver drivers who insist on rolling through stop signs and red stop lights really ought to take heed of the graphic lessons here on the results of deliberate and very negligent driving.