Man charged with vehicular homicide

EPHRATA — A Soap Lake man is accused of striking the back of a truck, causing it to roll and killing the passenger.

Charles R. Rutherford, 54, Soap Lake, is charged with vehicular homicide after an Oct. 2 collision near Soap Lake.

Rutherford was traveling eastbound on state Route 28, when the truck ahead of him slowed down to make a right turn into a trailer park. Rutherford reportedly ran into the back of the truck, making it roll to where it rested next to a tree, according to a Washington State Patrol report. After the initial collision, Rutherford allegedly crashed into the back of one of a trailer.

The victim’s husband pulled the woman out of the truck, performing CPR on her until emergency personnel arrived. They managed to stabilize her, transporting her to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata and then Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the police report. She died Oct. 6.

Rutherford allegedly staggered up to the officer, smelling like alcohol, saying the driver of the other vehicle did not activate the turn signal. The officer performed a horizontal gaze nystagmus test, an alcohol intoxication eye test. The test indicated the man was drunk, according to the police report. He refused a field sobriety test.

No blood alcohol level was listed in the police report.