Woman disfigured after collision with dump truck

Police have recommended a vehicular assault charge against a driver involved in a collision Wednesday night near First Street in Cheney.

Cheney Police Officer Zeb Campbell said Nathaniel Petty, 22, failed to yield to traffic while making a turn, sending a woman’s car into an oncoming dump truck. Petty was suspected to be under the influence.

The woman sustained serious injuries to her body and face and is currently being treated at Sacred Heart Medical Center, where Campbell said she is awaiting plastic surgery.

“It is believed that the victim will suffer long-term facial disfigurement as a result of this collision,” Campbell wrote in the arrest affidavit.

The incident happened at about 11 p.m. in downtown Cheney, near Eastern Washington University. Petty’s car was preparing to turn left onto First Street when he struck the victim’s car and pushed it into a dump truck headed north-bound on First Street.

Both Petty and the driver of the dump truck were not injured.