Tacoma man charged in fatal Coulee City crash

COULEE CITY — A Tacoma man was reportedly intoxicated when he rolled his SUV south of Coulee City over the weekend. The crashed claimed the life of his female passenger.

Grant County prosecutors charged Brent Reiner, 37, of Tacoma, in Grant County Superior Court on Monday with vehicular homicide, DUI and reckless driving.

The charges relate to a Saturday afternoon rollover collision on state Route 17, about seven miles south of Coulee City. When troopers with the Washington State Patrol arrived at the scene two witnesses said the involved vehicle, a 1999 Ford Expedition, crossed from the southbound SR-17 lane into the northbound lane. They said the driver, Reiner, lost control of the Expedition and the SUV rolled, according to court documents.

Reiner’s passenger, Sarah Sherman, 37, of Tacoma, was ejected out of the vehicle and landed on the SR-17 shoulder in a rocky area.

“As the Ford Expedition came to (a) rest on its wheels, the witnesses saw the male driver fall out of the driver’s seat of the vehicle,” wrote a trooper.

Aid crews attempted to work on Sherman, but she went into cardiac arrest and died.

When troopers first contacted Reiner his movements were reportedly lethargic, his speech was slow and slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and watery and he had a “strong odor of intoxicants on his breath.” In a breathalyzer test Reiner reportedly blew a .100, which is over the legal limit in Washington of .08 percent.

In a statement given to the WSP one witness claimed Reiner told them “the sun was in his eyes” and he lost control of the vehicle.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.