Investigations into the traffic accident in Cowlitz County in which three people died are ongoing

By Matt Esnayra / The Daily News

It was the expired registration numbers on a black 1996 Toyota Camry that alerted police to stop 31-year-old Jamesha Solana Berryman on April 30, officials say.

Instead of stopping, the Longview resident fled from Cowlitz County officials and crashed into a truck at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Columbia Street in Kelso at around 8:35 p.m., according to police. She and her two passengers were killed and the truck’s occupants were injured.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Dakota Russell told The Daily News that detectives expect to complete their investigation into the crash in the next few weeks, but the suspect, Berryman, who caused the accident, is dead.

The sheriff’s office said officers did not pursue the fleeing car.

The accident occurred after state lawmakers passed fewer restrictions on police officers pursuing suspects’ vehicles, but the accident occurred just over a month before the new law went into effect.

Cowlitz County Deputy Detective Troy Brightbill said when a deputy spotted the expired license plates, he realized the Camry’s registered owners also had warrants for their arrest and had suspended driver’s licenses.

But neither Berryman nor her passengers are the registered owners, he added.

Although Berryman did not own the car, Court records still show that an arrest warrant was issued for her in January. after failing to complete drug treatment required following her conviction in November for possession of fentanyl and meth with intent to resell.

When the driver of the Camry was briefly stopped, Brightbill said he gave a false name and then sped away, nearly hitting a police officer who was parked on the south shoulder of Pacific Avenue before crossing into the oncoming lane.

Officers attempted to stop the Camry using spike barriers but were unable to reach the vehicle before it spun out of control and collided with the truck, according to a report from Kelso police, who were also at the scene.

Brightbill said dashboard camera footage confirmed that officers lost sight of the vehicle before the collision.

As it reached the 600 block of North Pacific Avenue, where the road curves slightly, the Camry ran a red light, crossed the yellow center line and entered the oncoming lane, where it collided head-on with the blue 2000 Ford Ranger, reports said.

The accident report states that the hood of the Camry struck the driver’s door and the front fascia of the Ford Ranger. The speed of the Camry is estimated in the report to be 100 miles per hour.

Berryman died at the scene of the accident, while her passengers, Marcel Delon Goodman, 47, of Longview, and Jeremy James Pritchard, 32, of Kelso, were both conscious immediately after the accident.

Kelso Sergeant Mark Berglund’s May 1 report states that Pritchard initially gave police at the scene a false name, identifying himself as John Green, but later told medical personnel his true identity.

The two passengers were taken to hospital by ambulance but died during surgery, reports said.

Kelso Police Officer Justin Krebs wrote in a report that he tried to open the rear passenger door of the Camry with a crowbar, but was unsuccessful.

The two occupants of the Ranger were also injured.

Benjermen R. Day, 41, of Kelso, was driving his friend Joshua David Cissell, 35, of Kelso, home in the truck. Day said he is now bedridden because he cannot yet put weight on his legs.

He has a broken hip socket, a shattered foot, a broken leg and fractures in his other leg. He said he has had six surgeries but may need more.

Cissell suffered severe cuts to his face in the accident and was the only one who did not have to be taken away from the scene by helicopter.

Day said police did not question him about the accident.

Russell of the Washington State Patrol said patrol officers worked with technical collision specialists who conducted investigations that included lighting the accident scene and evaluating photographs and drone footage.

Darr Kirk, chief of police for the Kelso Police Department, informed Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste of the accident on May 1, stating that at that time the officers’ involvement in the accident was unclear.

However, Kirk adds in his letter that the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office report is labeled as a chase, saying, “The stop, attempted vehicle interference, and report title lead me to believe they were significantly involved.”

Kirk declined to comment on the crash to The Daily News.

The Washington State Legislature passed a new law earlier this year that gives law enforcement more leeway in pursuing suspects in vehicles.

Under the old law, police needed reasonable suspicion to initiate a pursuit. The new law, which took effect on June 6, now allows officers to initiate a pursuit if they have reasonable suspicion that the suspect has committed a specific crime.

Another fatal crash occurred in Longview on May 17 after a driver fled an attempted traffic stop and rolled over on Ocean Beach Highway near Stuffy’s II, killing the driver, according to Longview police. The name of the person and the reason for the stop have not yet been disclosed.