2A • July 6, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Fatal DUII crash leads to prison
Costa sentenced
to six years for a
young life lost
By Jack Heffernan
The Daily Astorian
A man who killed a Seaside
woman in a drunken-driving
crash on U.S. Highway 101
last June was sentenced June
28 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 south-
bound 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 Cam-
ry, slid about 180 feet, came
upright after hitting some-
thing and caught fire.
“Frankly, the defendant
is lucky to be alive,” Deputy
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 Cos-
ta’s blood alcohol content was
0.16 percent, Brown said.
Costa was indicted a few
weeks later on charges of
first-degree
manslaughter,
driving under the influence of
intoxicants and reckless driv-
ing. He faced a maximum of
A fatal drunken-driving crash on U.S. Highway 101 led to a
six-year prison sentence.
Kayla Weber
10 years in prison. However,
Costa agreed to plead guilty to
second-degree manslaughter
and DUII charges and serve
the minimum of more than six
years as part of a deal with the
Clatsop County District Attor-
ney’s Office.
Not lost on those in the
courtroom was the irony that
Costa — a student at the time
— was driving back to his res-
idence at the Tongue Point Job
Corps Center, while Weber
— a residential adviser at the
center — was driving home
from work. Some who spoke
at Thursday’s
hearing talked
about Weber’s
impact at the
job corps.
At a memo-
Christopher rial, about 50
Costa
“visibly shak-
en” students
stood in line to offer verbal
tributes to Lorelei Weber,
her mother. Weber lived with
her daughter at the time, and
they were described as best
friends. She declined to say
Costa’s name throughout her
statement, instead referring to
him as a “dumb kid.”
“He’s taken the joy out
of my life. Together we had
hopes and dreams,” Lorelei
Weber said. “He affected so
many lives. All she was do-
ing was driving home from
work.”
Tita Montero, a Seaside
city councilor and former
business and community liai-
son at the job corps, described
herself as a mentor to Weber.
She said the fact that Costa
was a student made her an-
grier.
“He was a student there
who knew he was not only
breaking the rules of the road.
He was breaking the rules of
his employer and of every-
thing he was getting for free
at Tongue Point Job Corps
Center,” Montero said.
Four of Weber’s friends
and family also spoke at the
hearing. Weber was described
as a dependable confidant and
a loving person who never
wished ill of people.
For 16 years, Weber helped
take care of homeless ani-
mals. Her mother asked Costa
to consider volunteering with
animals after his prison sen-
tence is completed.
Kirk Wintermute, Costa’s
court-appointed attorney, said
he believes his client has the
ability to make a positive dif-
ference someday.
“I’ve been, frankly, im-
pressed with Mr. Costa about
how positive he’s been and
how he’s wanted to do every-
thing he can to try to make
things right,” Wintermute
said.
Circuit Court Judge Dawn
McIntosh said the incident
was heartbreaking for both
Weber’s and Costa’s families.
“In the blink of an eye, in
the split second of a bad de-
cision to get behind the wheel
of that car, your whole world
changed. Their whole world
changed, the students at the
job corps,” McIntosh said.
“The ripple effect is crazy.”
Costa did not offer a state-
ment Thursday. But during
her statement, Lorelei Weber
asked him a question.
“Did you ever have the
honor of meeting my daugh-
ter?” she asked.
“No,” Costa replied.
“Then you missed out.”
Two are displaced in Seaside motel fire
Abandoned
cigarette
appears to be
the cause
By Brenna Visser
Seaside Signal
BRENNA VISSER
A small fire, which appears to
have been caused by a forgot-
ten cigarette, singed the door
frame of one unit at Pine Cove
Motel in Seaside June 26.
A small fire started by
what appears to be a forgot-
ten cigarette has displaced a
family of two staying at the
Pine Cove Motel in Seaside
June 26.
At about 6:30 p.m., Seaside
Fire Department responded to
a call reporting small flames
and smoke smoldering at the
bottom of the door frame
outside unit 11 at 2481 U.S.
Highway 101. Division Chief
Chris Dugan the cause ap-
peared to be a “disregarded
cigarette,” which was left in a
nook near the base of the door
outside by the resident a few
hours prior.
With flames only reaching
an inch tall, Dugan said dam-
age was minimal and no inju-
ries were reported. The fam-
ily is temporarily displaced,
however, because the flames
damaged the door frame
enough to where the room
could no longer be properly
secured. Dugan said the de-
partment is reaching out to
the Red Cross for services.
The family had already left
the residence.
“They were lucky this
didn’t happen at 2 a.m. while
they were asleep, where it
could have been left smolder-
ing a lot longer,” Dugan said.
Motel maintenance work-
er Ken Hartman said the
event was unfortunate, but
was thankful it didn’t turn out
to be worse.
“I suppose it’s a part of the
business,” Hartmann sighed,
looking at the singed door
frame.
June 17
2:34 a.m., S. Columbia and
Avenue A: A person is arrested
and charged with DUII.
9:35 a.m., Twelfth Avenue
beach approach: A woman
with five outstanding warrants
is arrested.
9:39 p.m., 1800 block S.
Roosevelt: A theft in the third
degree is reported.
June 18
3:17 p.m., 400 block First
Avenue: Police respond to a
request for a welfare check on a
baby in distress. Police say the
baby was just having a very
bad day.
June 19
2:47 a.m., N. Prom: Police con-
tact subjects reported doing
drugs in a restroom. They were
indefinitely trespassed from
the area.
12:55 p.m., Police headquar-
ters: A gold ring found on
Ocean Shore is turned in to the
police department.
4:42 p.m., Broadway: Caller
requests welfare check on
subjects thought to be doing
drugs in a public restroom.
June 20
11 a.m., Police headquarters: A
person came in to register as a
sex offender.
11:55 a.m., Carousel: A child
reported missing is reunited
with its parents prior to police
arrival.
6:23 p.m., Avenue G: A person
is arrested for DUII.
June 21
12:48 a.m., Seaside Chamber:
A person loitering suspiciously
outside the building was asked
to move on.
June 22
1:28 p.m., Skate Park: Police
look for a woman reported to
be talking to herself as well as
children in the area. They are
unable to locate.
2:56 p.m., 800 block Second
Avenue: A bicycle thief reported
stealing a bike in the area was
identified and located by police.
The bike owner said he wished
to press charges. The purported
thief was cited and released.
June 23
12:59 a.m., Wahanna: A man
reported yelling and screaming
about treatment he received
at the hospital was cited for
disorderly conduct and advised
to move along.
3:43 a.m., Lincoln and Avenue
A: A couple having a shouting
match were reported by a call-
er; police were unable to locate.
reports a guest at their hotel
who called after check out
to say they’d accidentally left
behind their handgun. Police
contact the owner of the gun;
a search of the room turned up
no results.
9:57 p.m., 1000 block Sixth Av-
enue: An assault in the fourth
degree is reported.
June 25
3:07 a.m., Broadway: A theft
in the second degree was
reported.
8:22 a.m., Prom: A man report-
ed screaming told police he
was agitated by other people.
He was warned of disorderly
conduct.
9:20 a.m., Keepsake Drive:
Burglary in the first degree and
two counts of identity theft are
reported.
June 26
7:19 a.m., 800 block N. Lincoln:
Theft in the second degree is
reported.
8:17 a.m., 400 block S. Roo-
sevelt: Theft in the second
degree is reported.
9:48 a.m., Shilo Inn and the
Prom: Police are summoned to
break up an argument between
two parties regarding removal
of sand dollars from the beach.
Police separate the people
and advise them of disorderly
conduct.
9:27 a.m., 400 block S. Roosev-
el: Theft in the second degree is
reported.
7:18 p.m., 200 block First Ave-
nue: Sex crimes are reported.
10:40 a.m., Broadway Middle
School: Another phone is dis-
covered at the Middle School
as well as a Sylvania MP3 player.
June 24
2:44 a.m., 400 block N. Prom: A
person is arrested and charged
with unlawful possession of a
weapon with intent to use; crim-
inal mischief in the first degree;
and reckless endangerment.
3:05 p.m., Avenue A: Caller
10:08 a.m. –10:32 a.m., Broad-
way Middle School: Multiple
phones are reported found at
the Middle School.
11:02 a.m., Broadway Middle
School: A gold chain is found
at the school gym as well as a
silver necklace from “Claire’s.”
11:19 a.m., Broadway Middle
School: Child size eyeglasses
and black ear buds are discov-
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POLICE LOG
4:46 a.m., 1800 block S. Colum-
bia: Caller reports boisterous
person outside their residence
they wish to be trespassed.
Officer located subject and told
them of the trespass.
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more ear buds; a purple watch;
house keys on a lanyard are
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5:32 p.m., Highway 101 and
Frontage: A person is arrested
and charged with DUII.
June 27
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5:18 p.m., Keepsake Drive:
Suspicious circumstances are
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June 28
9:08 a.m., Roosevelt Drive :
Police made contact with an
individual who violated their
probation. The person was sub-
sequently charged with failing
to report as a sex offender; they
were transported to Clatsop
County jail.
5:02 p.m., Broadway: Caller re-
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10:26 p.m., Holladay Drive: A
person eluding a police officer
and then giving false infor-
mation to a police officer was
cited.
June 29
10:54 a.m., Roosevelt Drive:
Caller reports a man “acting
weird” in front of a business. Of-
ficers advise subject of trespass.
Subject agrees to move along.
2:32 p.m., N. Wahanna: Minor
calls 911 stating he is afraid
and no parents are home. The
responsible party for the child
shows up. No further action
taken.
5:38 p.m., Convention Center:
Caller reports an elderly
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making them uncomfortable.
Subject said she would stop
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