NATIONAL
CHAMPS
OREGON STATE WINS COLLEGE
WORLD SERIES SPORTS • 8A
145TH YEAR, NO. 259
ONE DOLLAR
WEEKEND EDITION //
CHANGING
OF THE GUARD
Fatal DUII
crash leads
to prison
Six-year sentence
for a young life lost
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Smith takes charge of
Coast Guard Sector
Columbia River
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
oast Guard Sector Columbia river
has a new commander.
Capt. Jeremy Smith, most
recently the executive officer of the Coast
Guard’s Aviation Training Center, took
the helm Thursday in a change of com-
mand ceremony at Air Station Astoria.
He replaces Capt. William Timmons,
who is retiring after two years at the sta-
tion and 27 years in the Coast Guard.
The sector oversees coastal Oregon
and southwest Washington state and cov-
ers the Columbia, Willamette and Snake
rivers up to Idaho — a $23 billion-per-
year shipping highway. More than 1,000
active duty and nonactive personnel serve
in the sector.
“You’ve been entrusted with the trea-
sure of our nation — the sons and daugh-
ters of America. Never forget that,” said
Rear Adm. David Throop, commander of
the Coast Guard’s 13th District, to Smith
in a speech. “Secondly, develop strong
partnerships and relationships.”
Smith entered the Coast Guard
Academy in 1994. Prior to the train-
ing center — the Coast Guard’s largest
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
See COAST GUARD, Page 7A
Capt. Jeremy Smith, right, greets members of the Coast Guard during a change
of command ceremony.
C
A man who killed a Seaside woman in a
drunken-driving crash on U.S. Highway 101
last June was sentenced Thursday to more than
six years in prison.
Christopher Jeremy Costa was driving
back to Astoria from Seaside just before 2:30
a.m. after a night of drinking. He crossed the
centerline of the highway at an S-curve near
Cullaby Lake. He then crashed head-on with
a southbound Toyota Camry driven by Kayla
Lynn Weber, 27, of Seaside.
The Camry, which was
moving at 40 mph, was
knocked backward. The
Chevrolet pickup Costa
was driving flipped over the
Camry, slid about 180 feet,
came upright after hitting
something and caught fire.
“Frankly, the defendant Christopher
Costa
is lucky to be alive,” Dep-
uty District Attorney Ron
Brown said.
Weber died instantly, while Costa managed
to escape the truck after sustaining serious
injuries. A blood draw at the hospital about one
hour after the crash revealed that Costa’s blood
alcohol content was 0.16 percent, Brown said.
Costa was indicted a few weeks later on
charges of second-degree manslaughter, driv-
ing under the influence of intoxicants and
reckless driving. He faced a maximum of 10
years in prison. However, Costa agreed to
plead guilty to the manslaughter and DUII
charges and serve the minimum of more than
See SENTENCE, Page 7A
Westport subdivision needs a public road
Nine-lot project in flux
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
WESTPORT — River Ranch, a subdi-
vision of more than 30 homes fronting the
Columbia River just north of the Oregon ter-
minus of the Westport ferry, has been around
since at least the 1960s.
But Coyote Point, a new nine-lot subdi-
vision ready to go in next door, is facing an
issue River Ranch residents have avoided
for decades — there is no public road to the
site.
Access to River Ranch and Coyote Point,
on the eastern edge of Clatsop County, is
through Carver Road, which winds west-
ward from Columbia County on top of a
dike along Westport Slough for several
miles, with gated access to the private com-
munity. Several property owners along the
road own the dike, providing easements to
local diking districts for maintenance.
Those property owners could block
access to River Ranch and Coyote Point,
said Robin McIntyre, legal counsel for
Columbia County. The county has recom-
mended the road be made public before the
subdivision is approved, she said.
“Apparently a lot of the legal access back
70 years ago was pretty loose,” said William
Parker, a representative of Coyote Point.
The 20-acre development originally
received a preliminary plat approval from
Clatsop County in 2013, conditioned on
improvements to the land. At the time, the
See WESTPORT, Page 7A
Are you or a loved
one suffering from
DRUG or
ALCOHOL
DEPENDENCE
971-606-0280
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Access to River Ranch and the proposed Coyote Point develop-
ments is through Carver Road, which has not been accepted by
Columbia County as a public roadway.
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