PORT ANGELES — Formal charges are expected to be filed Tuesday for a 21-year-old Yelm man who was arrested in the investigation of a vehicular assault and hit-and-run after he allegedly drove a Chevrolet Camaro through a fence and into a yard early Friday morning.
Robert W. Serpa-Hoover was booked into the Clallam County jail on Friday after Port Angeles police found him unconscious in a nearby home, police said.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Ken Williams set his bond at $100,000. Formal charges will be filed on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
Port Angeles police and the Port Angeles Fire Department responded to a report of a collision at 2:38 a.m.
The caller, who lives on the 100 block of Apple Lane, said his daughter had come home with facial injuries she sustained in a wreck.
“They arrived to find a blue Chevy Camaro parked out front with fresh damage to both sides of the car,” said Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith.
The woman, who said she was passenger in the car, was taken to Olympic Medical Center with injuries to the face.
Medics believed that she may have fractured a cheek bone, but X-rays determined that she did not have broken bones, charging documents say.
She was treated and discharged from the Port Angeles hospital later Friday, OMC spokesman Jeff Anderson said.
When police arrived at the house, the woman said that Serpa-Hoover had been driving the Camaro and was passed out in her bedroom.
A patrol sergeant later found the car at Ahlvers Road and Laurel Street. Police say there was an estimated $500 in damage.
Police say it took three minutes and several attempts of shaking Serpa-Hoover to wake him up. He appeared to be intoxicated, police say, and changed his story several times.
“It turned into an arrest situation,” Smith said.
According to the police certification for probable cause, Serpa-Hoover denied that he was driving the vehicle.
Serpa-Hoover was taken to OMC to have a blood sample taken before he was booked into jail for investigation of vehicular assault, hit-and-run injury and hit-and-run unattended property.
A DUI charge is pending the results of the blood test, police said.
The property owner was not aware of the damaged yard and fence until notified by law enforcement.
Police conducted their investigation at Ahlvers Road and Laurel Street until about 10 a.m.
Smith said the arrest was significant because it started as a medical call.
“It’s a testimony to the strong work these officers did this morning,” Smith said.
“It takes some work to make this type this case.”
Smith said Port Angeles police are stepping up their DUI enforcement this year. Port Angeles police have made 196 DUI arrests in the past two years.
“Situations like this are a significant problem,” Smith said.
“DUI crashes are problems that affect all of us.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.