A Battle Ground man faces a vehicular homicide charge following a July 11 crash that killed a man from Hockinson.
On July 13, Jaxon Jondahl, 20, made his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court. He faces charges of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and an ignition interlock device violation in connection with a crash near Northeast 172nd Avenue and Northeast 159th Street in Hockinson. His bail was set at $300,000.
According to a probable cause affidavit for Jondahl’s arrest, upon arrival at the scene at about 10:45 p.m., responders saw one vehicle overturned in the middle of the roadway and one in the bushes on the north side of the road. Responders said Nicholas Crown, 35, was in critical condition and Jondahl had complaints of head pain. Both were transported to the hospital.
Crown’s Toyota was “severely damaged,” the affidavit stated, and the Chevrolet driven by Jondahl had front end damage and a snapped-off tire. Beer cans and an empty vodka bottle were among the debris found at the scene.
Camera footage from a nearby resident’s property showed that after one set of headlights turned eastbound onto Northeast 159th Street, a “streak of light” identified as Jondahl’s vehicle, was spotted going at an “incredibly high rate of speed.”
Jondahl told an officer he was going between 10 and 20 mph over the posted speed limit at the time of the crash, and he attempted to swerve out of the way but was unable to do so.
At the hospital, Jondahl told law enforcement he was traveling from a friend’s house in Battle Ground to another friend’s house at the time of the crash, the affidavit stated. The interviewing officer noticed a “strong odor of intoxicants” on Jondahl’s breath, and he told the officer it would be his third DUI.
Jondahl was required to have an ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle at the time of the crash, which wasn’t found, according to the affidavit.
Crown died at the hospital on July 12, according to court documents.
Jondahl initially faced a vehicular assault charge, though that changed when Crown was declared dead.
Jondahl is set for an arraignment hearing on July 23, according to court records.
