An 18-year-old Port Townsend man is facing a felony charge of attempting to elude a police vehicle after he allegedly tried to outrun a sheriff's deputy on Highway 19.

Sterling Sage Berg was charged with the offense Sept. 13 in Jefferson County Superior Court.

Berg was arrested after he passed a sheriff's deputy on Highway 19 near Highway 20 and was allegedly driving 64 mph in a 50 mph zone.

The deputy was headed the other way on the highway, but pulled a U-turn and noticed Berg was swerving as he drove south.

When the officer tried to stop Berg's vehicle near Airport Road, however, Berg allegedly sped away, according to court records.

In a probable cause report for Berg's arrest, the deputy said Berg drove recklessly as he tried to get away, crossing into the oncoming lane of traffic, going through blind corners, and running stop signs as he fled. The officer said Berg nearly wrecked his car when he went through the intersection of Woodland Drive and Parkland Drive.

The deputy continued to follow the fleeing car, and when the vehicle slowed to 40 mph to turn into a gravel driveway, the deputy used his patrol car to make a PIT maneuver (precision immobilization technique) to stop Berg's vehicle.

The PIT maneuver spun the vehicle around and the deputy held the driver, later identified as Berg, at gunpoint until other deputies arrived.

According to court papers, Berg's vehicle smelled of marijuana when he got out and several open containers of marijuana could be seen inside the car.

Berg allegedly told police he had not smoked since the night before and was taken to the county jail for the tests. A blood draw was also taken and sent to the crime lab for testing.

The patrol car used to stop Berg could not be driven after the collision, because the force of the crash pressed the vehicle's push bar against the front left tire.

Conviction of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle can result in a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.