By Canadian Press

Arrest in case of 2 run over at Washington swimming hole

Jun 26, 2019 | 12:57 PM

WASHOUGAL, Wash. — A man accused of driving his Jeep through a fence at a Washington state swimming hole and running over two German tourists, killing them, has been arrested, police said Wednesday.

The victims were lying on the ground Tuesday afternoon at Sandy Swimming Hole Park in Washougal near Portland, Oregon, when the vehicle struck them.

The victims were identified as Rudolf Hohstadt, 61, and Regina Hohstadt, 62, Washougal police said. They had been visiting relatives in the Portland, Oregon, area and authorities said they had been in the United States for a few days. It wasn’t immediately clear where in Germany they were from.

Police arrested a suspect late Tuesday night. The Columbian newspaper reports David E. Croswell, 71, was booked on suspicion of two counts of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of intoxicants and two counts of hit-and-run driving resulting in death.

Croswell was due to appear in court later Wednesday. It was not clear if he had an attorney.

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Police do not believe the man arrested and the victims knew each other or had interaction with each other before the crash.

The jeep drove through a chain-link fence at the swimming hole about 5 p.m. Tuesday and continued toward the water, where it struck the Hohstadts, who were lying on the beach, authorities said.

The vehicle then exited the park by driving up a berm and through a sign. Witnesses told authorities that the jeep did not slow down while it was in the park.

Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press