Crash results in criminal charge for Coupeville man

Published 2:51 pm Tuesday, December 9, 2014

A 23-year-old Coupeville man who allegedly struck a bicyclist in a May 17 accident on Bakken Road is facing a felony charge, court documents indicate.

Prosecutors charged Taylor C. Evans in Island County Superior Court Nov. 21 with vehicular assault.

Detective Charles Sletten with the Washington State Patrol investigated the collision.

Sletten’s report states that Evans admitted drinking beer prior to the accident.

A woman asked Evans to drive her parents’ Chevrolet pickup to their home on Bakken Road, the report states. Evans was going west on Bakken Road when he turned in front of Christina Bromme, 46, of Coupeville, who was bicycling eastward.

Bromme tried to avoid getting hit and went down on her bike; she was “over-ran” by the pickup, the report states.

Bromme was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious face and head injuries. She was later diagnosed with a fractured jaw and a tear in a cerebral membrane. She has undergone multiple surgeries, the report states.

Evans’ blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.12, above the legal limit of 0.08, Sletten wrote.

If convicted of the charge, Evans could face from one to nine months in prison under the standard sentencing range.