Brewster man arrested after Indian Dan Canyon accident

A Brewster man was transported to Okanogan Douglas Hospital, and later arrested on old and new charges, after he drove his car off the top of Indian Dan Canyon Road Tuesday afternoon, July 8.

Tom Collins, 42, was driving toward Highway 97; he told deputies from the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office that he was going slow, but lost control when he came around the corner at the top of the hill. The car fell over the embankment and rolled; Collins was ejected about halfway down the hill. The car came to rest at the bottom of the hill on its top, said Okanogan County Undersheriff Joe Somday.

While Douglas Okanogan Fire District No 15 ambulance and fire personnel loaded Collins on a stretcher and brought him down the hill, sheriff's deputies examined the car. "They found a box that looked like it contained illegal drugs," Somday said, and summoned K-9 deputy Laura Wright and her dog. The dog located the box and indicated the presence of marijuana, Somday said. Subsequent tests indicated the substance in the box was marijuana, Somday said.

Collins was arrested due to an outstanding felony warrant stemming from an earlier case; after the accident he was cited for possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and third degree driving with a suspended license.