A suspected intoxicated driver rolled his vehicle onto a Spanaway street Saturday morning after first driving through a fence, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said. Pierce County Sheriff’s Department Courtesy

By the time the empty beer bottle fell out of the SUV’s window early Saturday morning, it didn’t make any difference for the driver.

The 25-year-old man had already been arrested. At a nearby Pierce County Sheriff’s Department precinct, he blew .192 percent blood alcohol content — nearly two and half times the legal limit of .08 percent.

His Honda CR-V was upside down in the middle of a residential Spanaway street. The remains of the wooden fence it had smashed through were poking out of its grille.

Click to resize

The bottle rolled out as a tow-truck operator righted the Honda CR-V at 200th Street East and 63rd Avenue, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The driver was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of driving while intoxicated with a prior conviction for DUI, driving with a suspended license and operating a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.

And then there were the outstanding warrants — on previous suspended license and interlock cases.

Witnesses related the driver’s saga — at least the last few seconds of it — for the arresting deputy.

The SUV was swerving on 200th Street East, narrowly avoided hitting another vehicle head-on, drove into a ditch, through the fence and ended up upside down on 63rd Avenue. One witness broke a window on the SUV so the driver could get out.

The driver was taken to a hospital for a medical check before going to jail, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Craig Sailor: 253-597-8541, @crsailor

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 1:33 PM.