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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man accused of vehicular assault in Spokane Valley has two prior DUIs

A drunk driver hit a parked SUV in Spokane Valley on Thursday night, seriously injuring an Uber driver, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to the collision in the 7400 block of East Eighth Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. The driver, Lonny J. Mangelson, 36, had been traveling east on Eighth when his Toyota Tundra drifted off the roadway, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

After hitting one parked car, Mangelson’s truck slammed head-on into the victim’s Mitsubishi Outlander, the sheriff’s office said. The collision pushed the Mitsubishi into the victim, who had been standing beside her vehicle, loading items into the back seat.

The victim, who worked for the ride-hailing service Uber, was hospitalized with serious but nonlife-threatening injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

Responding deputies reported that Mangelson’s eyes were droopy, watery and bloodshot, and his breath smelled of alcohol. Speaking slowly, Mangelson admitted to one deputy that he’d drank alcohol that evening, the sheriff’s office said.

Another deputy conducted a field sobriety test and arrested Mangelson. He later refused to submit to a breath test, but deputies obtained a warrant for a blood sample, which was taken while he was being evaluated for potential injuries from the collision, the sheriff’s office said.

Mangelson was booked into the Spokane County Jail at about 1:30 a.m. He faces a felony charge of vehicular assault.

Court records show Mangelson has two prior convictions for driving under the influence in Spokane County, including one from 2002, when he was 20. Later that year, he was convicted of reckless driving. In 2010, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail for driving with a suspended license.