PORT ANGELES – Bob Stokes looked up from his rowboat and saw the bottom of a Mazda 626 coming right at him as it flew into the water.
The car nose-dived into the water of the Port Angeles Boat Haven after flying at least 175 feet from a 15-foot embankment, clearing a dock and landing about 10 feet in the water, next to Stokes’ boat, on Monday night.
It was a Hollywood ending to a late-night police chase through Port Angeles, in which, police said, a drunk driver tore along Front Street, making obscene gestures and tossing cups of beer at pursuing State Patrol officers.
Jesse Glenn Yaun, 36, of Port Angeles, was charged Tuesday in Clallam County Superior Court with attempting to elude a police vehicle, reckless driving, hit and run, driving without a license, driving under the influence of alcohol and resisting arrest.
The State Patrol said the car flew 175 feet. The Port of Port Angeles reported the flight as being 182 feet.
No one else was in the car, which sank to the bottom of the marina, where it rested until it was brought to the surface with floats and towed from the water on Tuesday afternoon.
Yaun escaped out his open driver’s window, then was pulled by officers onto a dock, punched and shocked until he was handcuffed, laughing the whole time, according to a police statement filed in court.
He remained in jail Tuesday night on $50,000 bail.
His parents said they didn’t plan to bail him out, saying a day or so behind bars would give him a chance to think.
His father, Glenn Yaun, said he didn’t know what drove his son to drive like he did on Monday.
He had been drinking during the day, he said, and was angry about something as he drank.
He told his parents he doesn’t know what happened on Monday night.
