Alleged drunken driver charged with late-night crash into Kennewick duplex

An alleged drunken driver is charged with plowing his car into a Kennewick home, injuring a man who was lying on a couch.

Jarrod S. Mendenhall, 27, reportedly was very relaxed when police found him in the driver’s seat of his car, which was inside the victim’s living room.

Mendenhall admitted to having a beer at Coyote Bob’s Roadhouse Casino before getting behind the wheel, court documents said.

He said he lost control of his Subaru WRX because his foot caught on the clutch, documents said.

Mendenhall recently pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to one count of felony vehicular assault. His trial is scheduled Aug. 28.

Police were called to the West Fourth Avenue home just after midnight Saturday July 1 for reports that a car went through an intersection and into the front wall of a duplex.

Two eyewitnesses said Mendenhall’s Subaru had been traveling south on South Conway Place at estimated speeds of 60-70 mph, court documents said.

Mendenhall failed to stop at a stop sign, went across the intersection and over a curb before hitting the home, documents said. The car went through a cinder block wall and pushed furniture and appliances in its path, leaving a gaping hole in the back wall too.

Other motorists on the road at the same time told police the Subaru had cut them off before the crash.

Aaron Myers, who was on a couch in the living room, suffered a broken bone in his leg or foot and cuts on his head and chest, court documents said.

His 8-year-old son also was in the house. The boy was not injured.

Mendenhall had alcohol on his breath, watery eyes, and slow and lethargic movements, documents said.

He was taken to Trios Southridge Hospital in Kennewick to have his blood drawn. The lab results are pending, documents said.

Mendenhall is out of custody after posting bail.

A GoFundMe account was created by the single father’s landlord to help him find a new place to live and replace some belongings destroyed in the crash. So far, $1,665 of the $3,000 goal has been raised.

This story was originally published July 8, 2017 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Alleged drunken driver charged with late-night crash into Kennewick duplex."