A 9-year-old boy was in critical condition Saturday after he was thrown from a vehicle driven by his uncle, who Washington State Patrol troopers said was drunk and high on marijuana.
The crash happened about 1:30 a.m. on westbound state Route 16 as the uncle tried to exit Purdy Drive to state Route 302, the State Patrol said. The driver, a 26-year-old Gig Harbor man, lost control and flipped the 1990 Acura Integra.
The driver and the 9-year-old boy, riding up front, were thrown from the car. A 9-year-old girl in the back seat was wearing her seat belt and was not hurt.
“This is heartbreaking,” trooper Guy Gill said. The driver’s alcohol level “was well over two times the legal limit” of 0.08.
The driver admitted to drinking “too much” and using marijuana before getting behind the wheel, according to the State Patrol. Marijuana was also found in the car.
The driver’s niece and nephew were screaming at him to slow down, Gill said, adding the driver took the children from their home with their mother’s permission.
The man was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault. That could be upgraded to vehicular homicide if the boy does not survive.
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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