PORT TOWNSEND — A 38-year-old man was booked into the Jefferson County jail after a one-car rollover at the intersection of state Highways 19 and 20 Thursday.
Chad A. Smith was taken first to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend after the 2:35 p.m. wreck, said Bill Beezley, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue spokesman.
He was later discharged from the hospital, after his actions prompted a call for assistance from the Port Townsend Police Department, and booked into the Jefferson County jail on investigation of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, said Trooper Krista Hedstrom of the State Patrol.
“He had a driver’s license from California that was expired, but his car was registered to him with a Port Hadlock address, so we think he’s a resident of Port Hadlock,” Hedstrom said.
Beezley said witnesses told emergency personnel that Smith, after being helped out of his pickup, had pushed it back upright before he collapsed.
Beezley gave this account, citing unnamed witnesses:
An older brown pickup was weaving as it traveled south on Highway 20. The witnesses said they followed the pickup about two miles to the intersection with Highway 19, where the driver attempted to make a right turn to remain on Highway 20.
The pickup left the highway in a southerly direction, rolling over about three times, with one of those being an end-over-end roll. The vehicle ended up off the road, lying on the driver’s side.
While one witness held the truck in position, another helped extricate the driver.
Once free of the vehicle, the driver pulled it back down on all four wheels before walking a short distance and collapsing in the grass.
Hedstrom said Smith was placed under arrest at the scene but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
“He decided he was well enough to leave, so he pulled his IVs out and was in the process of walking out the door as the troopers got there,” she said.
He told the troopers that his shoulder hurt, so he was taken back into the hospital for examination.
“At the hospital, he became loud and . . . got kind of out of control,” so the Port Townsend police were called to help, Hedstrom said.
He was booked into jail after the hospital cleared him, she said.
He refused to take a blood test for blood-alcohol level, she added.
