PORT GAMBLE — A Port Townsend man was in satisfactory condition Wednesday in a Seattle hospital after he crashed his pickup truck down a 100-foot embankment as he fled from law enforcement Tuesday night, the State Patrol said.
Steven L. King, 73, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the crash in Port Gamble ended a chase across the Hood Canal Bridge that began in Jefferson County, the State Patrol said.
King, who was listed in satisfactory condition at the hospital Wednesday afternoon, has been cited for felony eluding, said Trooper Krista Hedstrom, State Patrol spokeswoman.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office provided this account:
Emergency dispatchers received a report of an erratically driven vehicle traveling southbound on state Highway 19 from the Port Townsend area at about 7:30 p.m.
Several other reports said the white 2002 Ford truck was driving into oncoming traffic and that its emergency flashers were activated.
Deputy Brian Peterson said the pickup veered over the center line on Highway 19 as it approached him.
Peterson pulled in behind King, who had stopped in the parking lot outside the Beaver Valley Store, but King drove off when Peterson got out of his car.
King stopped briefly again on the shoulder of Highway 19 at Oak Bay Road.
As the deputy approached, King waved his arm out the vehicle and sped off toward state Highway 104.
King stopped at the intersection of state highways 104 and 19, displayed his middle finger out the window to Peterson and drove eastbound toward the Hood Canal Bridge.
King continued to drive into oncoming lanes of travel, stopping on three more occasions and then fleeing, including twice on the Hood Canal Bridge, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Peterson followed the pickup into Kitsap County, where he saw the vehicle fail to negotiate a 90-degree corner in Port Gamble and fall over an embankment into the old Port Gamble mill site.
The vehicle was destroyed, the State Patrol said.
King was not wearing a seat belt, the State Patrol said, adding that drugs and alcohol are not considered factors in the collision.
The cause of the crash was excessive speed, the State Patrol said.
Hedstrom said the State Patrol may issue other citations after its investigation is concluded.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.