Authorities identified 23-year-old Austin G Devolve as the victim who suffered injuries following a single-vehicle accident that also killed 19-year-old Vance Terrell Jourdan III on May 20 at Yakima Air Terminal.
The fatal car crash took place on West Washington Avenue just before 3 a.m. According to the investigation reports, Jourdan was traveling at a high rate of speed when he failed to maintain control of his BMW at the curve near the airport, crashing into two transformers outside the airport. After that, the car went airborne and hit the side of the airport’s control tower 15 feet off the ground.
Vance Terrell Jourdan died of his injuries while he was being shifted from Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. His death was ruled as an accident, with blunt-force trauma to his head and body. Toxicology results from the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab are pending.
His passenger, 23-year-old Austin G Devolve, also suffered injuries and has since been released from Harborview. According to the court records, Jourdan was cited for driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run unattended, having no valid operator’s license and being a minor in possession of alcohol in September 2021. The case in Yakima County District Court was dismissed June 3 due to his death.
Officials estimated Jourdan’s speed at between 80 and 90 mph. The collision and resulting power outage caused the airport to delay all commercial flights that day and affected National Weather Service monitoring. No other details are made available.
An investigation continues.
June 9, 2022
Source: Yakima Herald Republic