A 31-year-old Bainbridge Island man was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs after witnesses said the man bounced his Hyundai off two guardrails on Highway 305 and nearly crashed into the side of the Agate Pass Bridge.

The man was arrested just before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26 near Highway 305 and High School Road.

Earlier, multiple drivers on Highway 305 called 911 to report a driver in a red Hyundai Sonata that was weaving all over the roadway.

Witnesses said the driver almost caused several head-on collisions just north of the Agate Pass Bridge, and one witness reported seeing the driver hit a guard rail.

Another witness, a woman driving a Kia Optima in front of the allegedly impaired driver, told police the driver had hit her vehicle twice as she slowed while approaching the stop light at the Highway 305/High School Road intersection.

A police officer responding to the scene saw the woman’s Kia stopped about 20 feet away from the traffic signal and she was out of her car and talking to the driver of the Hyundai.

As the two drivers got back into their vehicles and continued south, a man in an SUV who had been behind the Hyundai began flashing his high-beam headlights to get the police officer’s attention.

The officer then pulled in behind the Hyundai and the driver again began to drift off the road, and went over the fog line by 3 to 4 feet.

Police stopped the driver, and the witness in the SUV told police he had seen the driver hit two separate guard rails while going through Suquamish, and said the driver had nearly caused several head-on collisions.

Those crashes were averted, the witness said, when the other drivers swerved out of their lanes to avoid a collision.

When police spoke to the driver of the Hyundai, he was lethargic and had very slurred speech.

An officer could not smell alcohol, but the driver failed field sobriety tests.

After his arrest, the driver said he had taken Clonazepam, a prescription medication commonly used to treat panic attacks.

The driver was taken to Harrison Hospital for a blood draw, and was subsequently booked into Kitsap County Jail for DUI with no bond, as authorities learned he had a prior offense within the past 10 years.

The driver was charged with DUI in Kitsap County District Court Friday.

Conviction of DUI can result in a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.