VANCOUVER, Wash. — Three people died early Sunday morning after a man driving the wrong way on State Route 14 in Vancouver crashed into another car.
Within an hour, another wrong-way crash on the same stretch of road injured five people.
The first crash happened at 1:17 a.m. when 33-year-old Aaron Dohman, of Vancouver, was traveling west in the eastbound lane, just east of Columbia House Boulevard, and crashed into the other car head-on.
Dohman was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries. Dohman's female passenger, 47-year-old Michelle Henriskbo of Vancouver, and the driver of the car that was hit, 35-year-old Edgar Acosta of Vancouver, both died at the scene.
"I'm so angry, I'm in pain, my whole body hurts and I need to be strong for my kids because they obviously now don't have a dad," said Edgar's wife, Daisha Acosta. "I can't let my kids or me, no matter how dark this gets, or how hard it gets, or how many people in this community remember him, we can't forget who he is and he's here."
A rear passenger in the wrong-way car, 33-year-old Christopher Kopf of McMinnville, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Police say a third car was involved in the crash but left before police arrived.
A GoFundMe account has been set up on behalf of Acosta's wife and three young children. Click here to donate. Another account has been set up for Michelle Henriksbo's family. Donate here
Acosta's wife, Daisha, set up a memorial at the scene.
About an hour later, at 2:12 a.m., the second wrong-way crash on SR 14 happened, this time just west of Columbia House Boulevard.
In that crash another driver going the wrong way in the eastbound lane crashed into a car head-on. That driver was seriously injured and taken to a hospital.
The male driver and female passenger of the car that was hit were both injured and taken to different hospitals. The extent of their injuries was not released.
A third vehicle was involved in the crash as well. The driver and passenger of that car, both females, suffered bumps and bruises. Police don't know if they were taken to the hospital.
The driver of the car that was hit was suspected of DUII, police said.
Eastbound SR 14 from Interstate 5 was closed to traffic until Monday morning.