Bouquets of flowers sit on a fence on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, that was knocked down when a driver crashed into a swimming hole in Washougal, Wash., and ran over two German tourists who were sunbathing by the Washougal River, killing them. Police have arrested David Croswell, who lives a few blocks away from the swimming hole, in the deaths of Rudolf Hohstadt, 61, and Regina Hohstadt, 62. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

German tourists run over, killed at Washington swimming hole

June 26, 2019 - 12:56 pm




It wasn't immediately clear where in Germany the Hohstadts were from.

A note on the gate at Croswell's home Wednesday said the family would not comment and asked reporters to leave the property. He was to make a first court appearance later Wednesday. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney yet.

Croswell did not stop or slow down after crashing through the fence, police said in a statement. He tore down a steep embankment to the sunbathing area, turned hard to the left, ran over the victims and then circled up a berm, knocked over a sign and left through the other side of the parking lot. He was arrested several miles away, police said.

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

The incident shocked the community, a small riverside town that has been growing rapidly in recent years as it gains popularity as a far-flung and more affordable bedroom community for Portland and Vancouver, Washington.

Residents stopped by Wednesday to leave flowers. A chain link fence edging a small parking lot was ripped out of the ground where a car had crashed through. Neon orange spray-paint in the grass marked the car's trajectory from the parking lot, which sits on a hill overlooking the river, to the grassy park and sandy beach below.



"It's very popular. Usually the road on a hot day is lined all the way back, both sides, this whole parking lot and all the way to the intersection," she said. "This is a very small community so you don't hear of things like this. My God, it's terrible."


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