19-year-old faces another count of vehicular assault after her car crashed into Spokane River

The 19-year-old woman who is accused of driving impaired into the Spokane River early this week will face another count of vehicular assault after investigators learned a passenger sustained serious injuries instead of minor ones as originally reported.

Serenity M. Dalziel, 19, is now charged with two counts of vehicular assault and one count of reckless endangerment. She was not listed in the Spokane County Jail Friday.

Officers responded to the crash around 8:20 p.m. Monday on the 2800 block of Upriver Drive in Spokane and discovered a vehicle in the river with three occupants, according to search warrant documents filed Wednesday in Spokane County Superior Court.

One of the passengers, 18-year-old Meguel A. Albright, had serious injuries, including brain trauma, documents said. He was in critical condition at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center on Friday, according to Ariana Lake, spokesperson for the hospital.

Another teen passenger was taken to a hospital where she was admitted for multiple serious injuries, including several fractures, according to a Spokane Police Department news release Friday.

The release said it appears at least one of the occupants was not wearing a seat belt. Dalziel was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries before being booked into the Spokane County Jail.

Police said Dalziel was likely impaired by cannabis, and speed was likely a factor in the crash.

Dalziel told an officer she took a “dab” of marijuana around 4 p.m. Monday. An officer smelled a “strong odor” of burnt cannabis coming from Dalziel, documents said.

Dalziel said in documents that when she looked down to adjust the heater, she thought she had swerved, then overcorrected.

The incident is under investigation.

Dalziel made her first court appearance for vehicular assault and reckless endangerment charges Tuesday and is scheduled for an arraignment Wednesday.