Drunk driver crashes into patrol car in Bremerton while police respond to medical emergency

BREMERTON, Wash. -- A 25-year-old man stationed at Naval Base Bangor is accused of smashing into a patrol car while drunk, narrowly avoiding injuring first responders who were tending to an elderly woman having a medical emergency.

Bremerton crash



According to Bremerton Police, officers responded about 8:30 p.m. Thursday to reports of a possible intoxicated driver traveling on 11th Street. Officers found the vehicle in question pulled over on 11th Street east of Roosevelt Avenue.

It turns out, the elderly woman driving the vehicle wasn't intoxicated; she was having a medical issue. The officer requested medical aid and repositioned his patrol vehicle to shield her car from oncoming traffic. He activated his emergency lights and began directing traffic.

When medics and first responders arrived on scene, they said it would be best to move the woman to the nearby ambulance on Roosevelt Avenue.

As medics were tending to the driver, another responder was getting a gurney out of the ambulance to move the woman.

Around the same time, the Bremerton police officer noticed a newer model Honda accelerate east on 11th Street from Naval Avenue.

The officer warned first responders about the impending crash, and first responders scrambled to get to safety as the Honda crashed into the patrol car and pushed the police car more than 15 feet.

The gurney was pinned between the patrol vehicle and the elderly woman's car. Police said a Bremerton fire lieutenant and a firefighter dove out of the way to avoid being hit. An ambulance attended was struck by the gurney and narrowly avoided being pinned between the gurney and the elderly woman's vehicle.

The 25-year-old driver of the Honda, employed by the US Navy and stationed out of Bangor, appeared intoxicated. According to Washington State Patrol, he was nearly three times the legal limit.

Everyone involved avoided serious injury, but the collision closed that stretch of roadway for nearly four-and-a-half hours.

It's unclear what charges the 25-year-old driver is facing.