Weeks after tragedy, crowds return to park

It’s a warm, sunny Friday and swimmers and families have made their way back to the Sandy Swimming Hole in Washougal.

If it weren’t for the memorial of wilted flowers adorning the park’s newly repaired fence in the parking lot, there would be little evidence that this normally peaceful, tranquil Washougal River beach was the scene of a horrific crime just two weeks prior — when a man driving a Jeep Cherokee crashed his vehicle through a park barrier and drove onto the beach, running over and killing two German tourists before driving away.

A Washougal man was charged in the incident.

David Croswell, 71, is lodged at the Clark County jail, charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of felony hit and run for allegedly driving under the influence and running away from the scene on June 25, after killing Regina and Rudolf Hohstadt, a German couple in their 60s who were visiting family in the Portland-Vancouver area.

For many families who have returned to the small Washougal park, the tragedy is still on their minds.

Richard Tackett and his fiance, Jane Cruz, brought their infant niece and young nephew to their favorite spot on the Washougal River to cool off and make chili dogs on Friday, July 12. The couple, who recently moved to the area from Las Vegas, first visited the Sandy Swimming Hole just a few days before the fatal hit and run.

“People usually want to be right down by the water unless it’s absolutely packed,” said Brian Little, who lives in a home across from the river.

Little watched paramedics try to save Regina Hohstadt’s life after her husband was rushed away by ambulance on June 25 from his backyard.

“At first I thought it was a drowning or a heart attack, but when they rolled the lady over I saw all the bruises and I thought, ‘What the hell just happened?'” Little said.

In 15 years of living on the river, Little said he has never witnessed any vehicle other than a city maintenance truck down by the river, so a hit-and-run accident was the last thing on his mind as he witnessed the tragic aftermath.

Four hours after the incident, court records state that Croswell’s son-in-law called 911 after hearing the description of the suspect vehicle on the news, telling police he had visited Croswell and saw matching damage on Croswell’s Jeep, which prompted him to call the authorities and report his father-in-law.

Police said Croswell’s Jeep Cherokee had extensive front-end damage and was missing its front grill. Police found tire markings, a partial front grill, paint chips, metal shavings and miscellaneous plastic pieces at the scene.

According to a police affidavit of probable cause, when officers spoke to Croswell, they could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from him.

Croswell admitted to drinking alcohol beforehand, according to the affidavit.

Police stated in the affidavit that Croswell’s daughter, Leticia Croswell, who lives with him, said she “only sees (David Croswell) drink once a month” and that her father sometimes went to a local Chinese restaurant to have a drink with a friend.

Washougal Police Department Commander Allen Cook is in charge of the investigation and said the case is unlike any other homicide he’s ever worked on in his career.

“Most homicides you can put into context in some way, but this one appears so random and out of the ordinary and just made no sense,” Cook told the Post-Record.