EVERETT — A man arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide told troopers he had injected heroin and smoked marijuana not long before last week’s fatal car wreck at Thrasher’s Corner near Bothell.
Bail for Dane M. Smith was set at $250,000 in court Monday.
Witnesses reported that Smith, 31, was driving erratically March 17 before the collision. His 2006 Honda Accord was southbound when it crossed into the northbound lanes and hit a 1991 Buick LeSabre driven by the Everett-area man, according to court records. Gale T. Arnold, 63, died at the scene.
A witness who was driving behind the Honda said she noticed the car swerve into a left lane where it nearly struck another car shortly before the fatal collision.
After hitting the Buick, Smith’s car spun counterclockwise and rolled on its top. As it rotated, it sideswiped another car. That driver was not injured.
The crash around 7 a.m. tied up traffic on Highway 527 for several hours.
When questioned by a trooper at the scene, Smith allegedly acknowledged injecting heroin the morning of the crash as well as smoking marijuana a few hours before. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. An accident report indicated he broke a finger.
Investigators at the accident scene recovered drug paraphernalia, according to an affidavit of probable cause to arrest the suspect.
The State Patrol said Smith is homeless and drifts between residences.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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