Man charged with 4 counts of vehicular homicide for Oct. 25 crash in Auburn

SEATTLE -- A 38-year-old man has been charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault for a collision that killed four passengers in the car he was driving in Auburn on Oct. 25.

A fifth passenger was seriously injured in the collision and remains in a coma, the King County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.

The defendant, Nicholas Windsor Anderson, was allegedly driving at a high rate of speed on Auburn Way South when the car he was driving went off the roadway and into a ditch before slamming into a tree and three utility boxes, the office said.

According to Valley Regional Fire Authority, several people inside the car were ejected when it hit a pole around 2 a.m. in the 3700 block of Auburn Way South.

The defendant’s dog was also in the car and had to be euthanized due to injuries.

The prosecutor's office said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the collision, and investigators are awaiting toxicology results on the defendant.

The defendant, recently released from the hospital for injuries sustained in the collision, was arrested Thursday night in Port Angeles and booked into jail Friday.

Bail was set at $750,000.