SPOKANE, Wash. — The suspect accused of careening into two buildings on South Freya Street admitted to a Washington State Trooper that he used meth the night before the crash, according to a search warrant.
McGavin Medrain, 48, is facing a vehicular assault charge in connection to the crash. He’s being held on $250,000 bond and made his first court appearance Monday afternoon.
In a search warrant filed for Medrain's blood, the trooper wrote Medrain first said he used meth "within the last week," but after more questioning he admitted to using the drug the night before. During a field sobriety test, the warrant says Medrain failed two parts of the test. He later told the trooper he has used meth "on and off for 30 years," according to the warrant.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 50% of meth can remain in a person's system 12 hours after use.
The trooper wrote that while he was writing the warrant, Medrain fell asleep in his patrol car and was "sweating profusely."
Medrain has a previous criminal history including four felonies, including DUIs and 10 misdemeanors. He is also on parole out of Idaho. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 31.
Suspect asked witness, 'Did I kill anyone?,' court records say
Court documents detail witness accounts of what happened before and after the crash.
One witness told police he heard “metal on metal grinding” coming from Freya Street and he saw a large truck driving at a high rate of speed, documents say. He said the truck was weaving in and out of traffic and eventually hit several vehicles before veering into the buildings, court documents say. The witness helped people who were trapped inside a vehicle that was pinned between the Dutch Bros coffee stand and the truck that crashed into it, documents say.
Another witness said she saw a man sitting across the street from the coffee stand that was “very bloody” and appeared to be injured, documents say. She asked the man if he was Ok, to which he replied, “Did I kill anyone,” according to court documents.
An officer who contacted Medrain said the suspect had various cuts on his arms and legs and had dried blood covering nearly his entire body, documents say. Another officer said he had observed enough signs of the defendant to conduct a sobriety test and determined Medrain was intoxicated on an unknown substance, documents say. A warrant was filed to draw blood from Medrain, according to court documents.
Surveillance video from a nearby home shows part of the crash. The dump truck is seen slamming into the back of several cars before plowing into the two buildings.
Documents said a woman working at the Dutch Bros broke her hip when the truck smashed into the building and equipment inside the store hit her.
The dump truck hit six vehicles just before noon on Friday before crashing through the Liberty Tax Service building and the Dutch Bros Coffee stand on Freya Street, Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said. Both buildings sustained "catastrophic structural damage" and are a total loss, he added. Spokane police wrote in a Facebook post that the first building was unoccupied, while employees and customers were in and around the Dutch Bros stand.
Seven people ranging in age from children to adults were injured in the crash, with at least one person taken to a hospital, authorities said. None of the injuries are life-threatening.