Authorities Test Both Driver, Car

A 3-year-old boy, pulled from a car that slipped into the water at a Whidbey Island boat ramp, remained in serious condition Friday as authorities tried to determine whether negligence or a tragic accident caused the death of his 5-year-old half-sister.

The children’s father, Edwin Crisp, 33, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was being held in Island County Jail on $3,000 bail for investigation of manslaughter.

Authorities were awaiting the results of blood tests to determine whether alcohol or drugs played a role. State crime-lab personnel were checking the car, a 1981 Datsun, for defects.

The deadly mishap that killed Breanna Ashley Sharon Eagle and injured 3-year-old Edwin Crisp Jr. occurred about 1 a.m. Thursday.

Crisp and his common-law wife said the Datsun’s reverse gear did not work, and they were attempting to push the car up the ramp when it rolled into the water.