Man gets 3 DUIs after crashing 2 cars then trying to tow them away

Tommy Ryser could have been arrested on one count of DUI had he stayed with the truck he allegedly crashed into a utility pole on Monday night, Sept. 13, in the 3300 block of Sweet Road, Blaine. He could have been arrested on a second count had he stayed in his wife's car, which he allegedly crashed into a guardrail a short distance away soon afterward.

But Ryser, 54, of Blaine compounded his problems when he retrieved his tow truck and returned to the second crash scene, with his forehead bloodied, to tow his wrecked cars back to his house. That gave deputies evidence to arrest him on a third count of DUI, said Sgt. Larry Flynn of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office. A little after 8 p.m., sheriff's deputies received the first crash report, Flynn said.

Deputies found that the pickup truck, with a trailer in tow, had been abandoned on the side of Sweet Road after it was crashed into the pole, Flynn said. Ryser was the registered owner, Flynn said. While they were investigating that crash, they got the second crash report farther down the road, this time involving a Volkswagen Golf registered to the same family, Flynn said.

A little while later, Ryser pulled up in his privately owned tow truck and was questioned by deputies, Flynn said. Through those interviews, deputies were able to ascertain that Ryser was driving both cars before they crashed, Flynn said. Ryser was taken to the Whatcom County Jail, where he was allegedly determined to be intoxicated and was booked into the jail on suspicion of three counts of driving under the influence, Flynn said.