State troopers recovered a handgun and suspected heroin, cocaine and marijuana at the scene of a Sept. 3 collision on North Whidbey that killed three people and injured three others, according to documents filed Thursday in Island County Superior Court.
Prosecutors charged 20-year-old Oak Harbor resident Jordyn Weichert, the driver accused of causing the accident, in Island County Superior Court Sept. 9 with three counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault.
Weichert is being held without bail in Island County jail. Her arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 20.
Numerous law enforcement officials on Whidbey, including the sheriff, said the accident was the worst in memory, in terms of the number of lives lost.
While the Washington State Patrol classified the accident as drug-related, prosecutors haven’t yet decided what role drugs may have played, given that toxicology results aren’t back. Island County Deputy Prosecutor David Carman said Weichert was charged on “all alternatives” of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, but that could change once lab results are complete.
There are three prongs or versions of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges; the most serious involves driving under the influence. The other prongs center on recklessness and disregard for the safety of others.
Two Oak Harbor men who were passengers in the Blazer, 25-year-old Jacob Quistorf and 26-year-old Francis Malloy, were fatally injured in the accident. The driver of the other car, 33-year-old Brian Wood of North Vancouver, British Columbia, was also killed in the crash.
Wood’s pregnant wife, 31-year-old Erin Wood, was injured, as were Weichert and the front-seat passenger in the Blazer, 22-year-old Samantha Bowling of Oak Harbor. Wood suffered internal head injuries, but both she and the baby survived. Bowling suffered a broken pelvis, court documents state.
Less than two hours after the accident, Detective Craig Cardinal with the Washington State Patrol arrived at the scene of the accident and made the decision to arrest both Weichert and Bowling on suspicion of vehicular homicide. Cardinal wrote that the arrests were based on the reckless act of “removing clothing while traveling at 55 mph,” poor judgement and the drugs found at the scene. Both Weichert’s and Bowling’s blood was drawn for testing.
Carman said he has to research the law, and wait for more evidence, before deciding whether to charge Bowling with a crime.
The state patrol report on the accident concludes that “it is believed that drugs were used by Ms. Weichert and Bowling and the other vehicle occupants (in the Blazer).”
Cardinal wrote that he found “heroin, cocaine, marijuana, syringes, scales, burnt foil used for the heating and liquefying of drugs, new foil, sugar used as a cutting reagent, and packaging material used for the sale of illegal drugs.” The report indicates that the drugs and paraphernalia came from the Blazer.
A deputy found a plastic bag with heroin in Malloy’s pocket and a handgun fell out of Quistorf’s pocket, Cardinal wrote in his report.
Weichert told a trooper that she had smoked marijuana about 11 hours before the crash.
Cardinal wrote that the accident occurred after Weichert became uncomfortable and asked Bowling to help steer while Weichert removed her sweatshirt. The vehicle crossed fully into the other lane, striking the oncoming 2004 Subaru.
If convicted of the charges, Weichert could face anywhere from six years and five months in prison to 12 years in prison under the standard sentencing range.
