A suspect is being held on $4 millions bail at Kitsap County Jail after allegedly causing 11 hit-and-run collisions Saturday night and attempting to elude law enforcement under suspicion of driving under the influence.
The Bremerton Police Department responded to multiple 911 calls Saturday around 8:30 p.m. describing a black 1996 Ford Explorer in downtown Bremerton who was intentionally crashing into vehicles and fleeing the scene.
According to BPD’s incident report, the onslaught of collisions began when the 64-year-old suspect rammed his vehicle into a white Subaru Outback in the middle of the intersection of Ninth Street and Wycoff Avenue, in West Bremerton. The driver of the Subaru said although he had come to a stop when the suspect entered his lane, the Ford Explorer accelerated in his direction and hit his front bumper head-on before speeding off and turning onto Sixth Street and driving east.
As the suspect continued to drive down Sixth, he crossed the double center line and clipped the side of another vehicle, before rear-ending another car waiting at a red light on Warren Avenue. After that collision, the suspect took off, heading north, and drove the wrong way through the Warren Avenue Burger King drive-through and crashed into a parked vehicle.
The suspect doubled back to the intersection and turned east onto Sixth, crashed into another vehicle stopped at the light, before continuing east in the westbound lane. The suspect then hit the rear bumper of a Ford Flex after the driver swerved in an attempt to avoid the crash. The Ford was occupied by a married couple and their son.
After the suspect parked in the 7-11 parking lot at Park Avenue, after crashing into another vehicle, the driver of the Ford Flex attempted to confront him. The suspect drove off, collided into two more vehicles and entered a parking lot back at Sixth and Warren, where his wife and son still remained in the damaged vehicle.
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The suspect then crashed into the Ford Flex again, this time striking the front driver’s side. At this time, a police officer arrived on the scene, and the suspect attempted to elude him by driving through a red light, and collided into another vehicle in his path.
The suspect then drove toward the northwest corner of the intersection, where the Starbucks is located, and ran a pedestrian off the sidewalk. The suspect continued in that direction and struck a fire hydrant before coming to a stop in the Starbucks parking lot, where officers pinned his vehicle in place.
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The suspect was forcibly removed from his vehicle by the officers, and medical aid arrived on the scene to evaluate him. The arresting officer observed him to be exhibiting indicators of someone who in under the influence of stimulants such as methamphetamine, according to the probable cause statement for his arrest.
The 64-year-old man is charged with three counts of second-degree assault, attempting to elude a police vehicle, driving under the influence and multiple charges of hit-and-run on attended and unattended vehicles. He was scheduled to appear in Kitsap County Superior Court on Monday and his bail was set at over $4 million.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Bremerton man arrested after multiple cars struck in hit-and-run