Poulsbo driver tells police he was texting before car went off road
Published 12:39 pm Monday, May 9, 2011
POULSBO — A Poulsbo man told police he was texting behind the wheel before his car went off the road, sideswiped a telephone pole and crashed into a tree on a steep slope on Bond Road, midway between State Route 305 and Lindvig Way, May 6.
The tree stopped the Mazda 3 four-door compact car from continuing down the slope and into Dogfish Creek. Poulsbo Police Sgt. Robert Wright said the driver climbed out the passenger window of the car, climbed up the slope to the street, then walked home. He hadn’t reported the crash by the time officers contacted him. The crash occurred shortly after midnight May 6, Wright said.
The driver was alone during the incident, Wright said. The driver has a clean driving record.
The driver faces no charges, no tickets — while texting while driving is illegal, an officer has to see you commit the infraction in order to cite you, Wright said. And, Wright said, it’s not illegal to leave the scene of an accident if you didn’t damage anyone else’s vehicle or property. But the driver will face some costs: Kitsap Towing charges $177 an hour for retrieving the vehicle, and there will be impound fees as well.
There were no skid marks, so vehicle speed may not have been a factor, Wright said. The driver’s side airbag didn’t deploy, indicating the car was slowed by its collision with the pole and slid down the slope, Wright said at the scene. There was no evidence of injury.
Climbing up the slope to Bond Road after midnight was quite a feat; Ernie Alexander of Kitsap Towing had to rappel down the slope to hook his winch gear onto the car.
City Public Works employees found the car about 2 p.m. Friday while cutting grass on the roadside. Sgt. Howard Leeming controlled traffic while Wright investigated. Blackberry vines entangled in the car’s front end snapped and popped as Alexander winched the car up the slope. Glass from the sideview mirror remained wedged in the telephone pole.
Wright’s final message: “You should never text while driving.”
