The Skamania County Prosecutor's Office has dropped criminal charges against Elieser Barajas, a Bingen man who was charged with vehicular homicide on Aug. 22.
Barajas, 46, was driving on a Forest Service road near Trout Lake when he lost control and struck another vehicle. Carole Talkington, 39, of Husum -- a passenger in Barajas' pickup truck -- was ejected and killed in the accident, which happened on a rainy evening.
Barajas and the occupants of the other vehicle were injured in the collision.
According to Peter Banks, chief criminal deputy for the Skamania County Prosecutor's Office, the lab tests on Barajas showed that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the wreck.
"He hadn't had anything to drink. The lab test verified he had no alcohol in his system, and no drugs, except caffeine," Banks explained. "The problem we had with the case is his blood work came back negative -- he was not under the influence of anything. Without that, there was no cause to warrant the vehicular homicide filing. There was not even enough to charge him with reckless driving."
Banks said there simply was no evidence to warrant a criminal case against Barajas.
"There was nothing we could move forward with," Banks said. "He apparently lost control coming around a corner in the rain. There is nothing even to show excessive speed."
Information from the News and our advertisers (Want to add your business to this to this feed?)
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sign up to receive notifications when a new Columbia Gorge News e-Edition is published.
Would you like to receive our news updates? Signup today!
Receive weekly updates on obituaries and death notices.
Oregon Capital Press presented by Columbia Gorge News
Receive updates on upcoming promotions and special sections.
Receive weekly updates on local sports news.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
Commented