SEQUIM — Dennis Smith, the deputy mayor of Sequim, was driving more than three times over the legal limit for alcohol when he caused a minor wreck Dec. 14, a State Patrol toxicology report shows.
Smith’s blood-alcohol level was 0.26 percent about six hours after the non-injury wreck near the intersection of Port Williams Road and Sequim-Dungeness Way.
The legal driving limit in Washington is 0.08 percent.
No other drugs were found in Smith’s system.
The State Patrol report was made available Wednesday through a public disclosure request.
Smith, 68, has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and is seeking deferred prosecution in Clallam County District Court.
He remains on the Sequim City Council.
December wreck
Sequim police detected the odor of intoxicants and arrested Smith after the 2013 Nissan Murano he was driving rear-ended a 2006 Toyota Highlander driven by Diane Crawford of Sequim before they entered a city roundabout at 3:15 p.m. Dec. 14.
A half-empty bottle of Smirnoff vodka was found on the floor of the Nissan between the passenger seat and center console, police said.
Smith failed a field sobriety test, telling Officer Stephanie Benes that a hip problem made it difficult to balance, according to the arrest narrative.
“Smith asked me if I knew who he was and if I cared about who he was,” Benes wrote in her report.
“I told him that I cared about his well-being and I was still going to do my job. Smith was cooperative throughout the contact, however, frequently confused about instructions and the situation that he was in.”
The case was turned over to the State Patrol to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
About an hour after his arrest, Smith told Trooper Keith Nestor that he was on his way home from Centralia when the wreck occurred.
“His speech was slow and slurred,” Nestor wrote in his report.
“I asked Smith how much he had to drink today and he replied ‘None.’”
Smith provided a voluntary breath sample at 4:35 p.m. that produced an alcohol reading of 0.28 percent.
Subsequent breath tests were invalid because Smith could not produce full samples of air, Nestor wrote.
Nestor obtained a search warrant for two samples of Smith’s blood.
The blood samples were drawn at Olympic Medical Center at 9:16 p.m. Dec. 14 and tested at a State Patrol toxicology lab in Seattle on Dec. 30.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
