Driver narrowly misses traffic pole before driving into building

A Suquamish man driving in Silverdale drove down an embankment and into the backside of The Doctors Clinic corporate offices around 10:45 a.m. this morning.

Thomas Benjamin Judd is one lucky man.

He’s also got a knack for measuring things just precisely, perhaps accidentally.

Judd, 45, of Suquamish, careened through the Ridgetop Boulevard and NW Myhre Road intersection on Wednesday morning, rapidly moving just inches past other cars.

He narrowly missed a traffic light pole by inches, plowed through bushes and down a hill before smashing into a gas meter and brick wall.

When he woke up in his white 1994 Geo Metro, he realized his car was tilted and mashed into the backside of The Doctor’s Clinic corporate offices. He is now being examined at Harrison Medical Center in Silverdale.

“He’s very lucky,” said Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Spokesman Scott Wilson. “He just said he woke up and here he was.”

It is unknown if Judd was speeding as there were no skid marks, Wilson noted. A more thorough investigation will be completed to determine the cause. A medic crew and Cascade Natural Gas responded to the scene to shut off the gas meter attached to the building.

Wilson marveled at the driver’s ability to navigate mere inches from danger. If the pole had been struck, it could have killed him and damaged several other cars, the spokesman said.

“The damage could have been significantly worse,” he said.

Later today, a tow truck will pull the car up from down the embankment.