A 19-year-old Hoquiam man was taken to the Hoquiam City Jail after police said he was driving under the influence and caused an accident that sent three people to the hospital early Saturday morning.

Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers said the collision occurred at 22nd Street and Simpson Avenue, the intersection at the east end of the Simpson Avenue Bridge. The suspect was reportedly driving at a high rate of speed and swerving when he apparently ran the stop sign on 22nd Street and crashed into a 2014 Toyota Corolla, sending the Toyota into a brick building and trapping three occupants inside the car.

All three were extricated by Hoquiam Fire Department personnel and were taken to Grays Harbor Community Hospital. Their conditions are unknown.

The suspect had just left a residence on Cherry Street, where his friends tried to stop him from getting behind of the wheel because he was intoxicated, said Myers. The collision rotated the suspect’s 2003 Audi sedan, after which it travelled backwards, narrowly missing the building and eventually coming to a rest against a fence in the building’s back parking area. After the wreck the suspect left the scene, but came back to the scene shortly afterward. He failed field sobriety tests and was arrested.

During daylight hours of the morning, the Hoquiam Police Department’s Crime Scene Mapping Team was called out to measure the scene. As one of the passengers in the Toyota was undergoing surgery at Community Hospital Saturday morning, subsequent charges will be dependent on the extent of injuries, said Myers.

”If the injuries are serious, the driver of the Audi could be charged with the felony crime of vehicular assault,” said Myers. The suspect is currently being held at the City Jail, but could be transferred to the Grays Harbor County Jail if the felony charge is sustained.

Traffic on Simpson Avenue was reduced to one lane during the morning for the Crime Scene Mapping Team. The building at the corner of the intersection appeared to have suffered extensive structural damage, said Myers.

The investigation is ongoing.