Minor injuries in rollover wreck in Port Townsend

Published 5:27 pm Saturday, August 30, 2014

PORT TOWNSEND — A man learning how to drive a stick shift rolled a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse in a Port Townsend neighborhood last week, city police said.

Port Townsend Detective Jason Greenspane said the vehicle careened across Clay Street between Van Buren and Harrison streets, hit a tree and flipped over at about noon Thursday.

The driver, 33-year-old Benjamin Marston, was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving, Deputy Police Chief Michael Evans said.

A lone passenger, 45-year-old Roger Smith, was charged with violating a protection order, Evans said.

East Jefferson Fire-Rescue evaluated the two men, one of whom was treated for minor injuries.

Police said Smith was teaching Marston how to drive a stick shift.