High speed pursuit injures three

Driver was over legal limit for alcohol consumption

“Three Navy men were injured and a fourth is facing a vehicular assault charge after a single-car, high-speed accident on North Whidbey early Saturday morning.Island County Administrative Deputy Jan Smith said that a 2?-year-old man was driving a 1989 Dodge Daytona three-door car southbound on Heller Road and passed another car at an excessive rate of speed.The driver then lost control and the car hit a dirt embankment several times while spinning wildly. The three passengers, all men in their early 20s, were ejected from the car along the 600-foot length of the scene.None of the passengers were wearing seat belts. The driver, who wasn’t injured, was safely buckled in.The three passengers were transported to Whidbey General Hospital and later transferred to the Navy hospital. While two of the men were treated and released, the most seriously injured passenger was still in the hospital Monday with a broken leg and facial injuries.The speed limit on Heller Road in the area of the accident is 45 miles per hour. Smith said investigators estimate that the Dodge was going at least twice that.The driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault. Smith said investigators are waiting for a toxicology report to determine if he was intoxicated while driving, which could affect the severity of the charges. “