An 18-year-old Bainbridge High student was charged with vehicular assault and driving under the influence in Kitsap County Superior Court this week after he allegedly crashed his car after speeding away on High School Road from the BHS homecoming game last Friday.

The crash left one of the three passengers in the car, a 17-year-old Bainbridge girl, with possible head injuries. She was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle late Friday for treatment.

The teen entered a plea of “not guilty” at his arraignment Monday, Oct. 22.

Police were called to the T-intersection at the western end of High School Road not long after the homecoming game against West Seattle came to an end Friday.

One witness told dispatchers the teen came down the hill toward Fletcher Bay Road and nearly caused a collision, and said the driver didn’t have his headlights on.

Another 911 call came in, with a report of a vehicle in the ditch, and said someone was carrying a girl out of the wrecked car and up to the roadway.

Witnesses inside and outside the driver’s car depicted a harrowing scene; arriving officers said a passenger in the 2007 Mazda 6, a 17-year-old girl, was lying in the street unconscious and an off-duty medic from the Bainbridge Island Fire Department was doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in an attempt to revive her.

One of the back seat passengers, a 17-year-old boy, said the teen driver had been going nearly 100 mph before he tried to turn at the end of High School Road and went off the roadway.

The passenger said when he realized how fast the car was going, he sat up to put his seatbelt on, then tried to buckle in the girl next to him, and then

tried to hold her in place, in the moments before the crash.

Police said it was obvious the driver had been drinking — he had alcohol his breath and his eyes were bloodshot and watery — but he was cooperative with officers.

A police officer at the crash said the driver approached him after he arrived, and admitted being behind the wheel, then saying about the injured passenger: “All I care about right now is if she is OK.”

The driver told police he had been drinking at the football game before the group — two girl passengers, 16 and 17, and the 17-year-old boy passenger — left the high school campus.

The teen also allegedly said he “had a few drinks before the homecoming football game and then had a few drinks during the game.”

After the game, they left and went to look for a place to hang out.

He allegedly admitted speeding away, going “very fast, maybe 100.”

The driver told police, according to an investigation report, that he was going too fast for the turn at Fletcher Bay Road and lost control.

The car went through the intersection, into the ditch and trees, before coming to a rest.

Officers found a half-empty bottle of Barefoot Wine Moscato in the front seat, and in a canvas bag in the back seat, an unopened bottle of Camerena Tequila and a partially consumed carton of Bandit Chardonnay.

The teen failed roadside sobriety tests, according to court records, and had breath test samples of .183 and .174 after his arrest.

The driver’s DUI arrest report noted he said he had been drinking wine and vodka, and had five or six shots. The drinking began at 6:30 p.m. at the football game, he said.

Bainbridge police took the teen to Harrison Medical Center-Bremerton, arriving at about 1 a.m.

Just before 4 a.m., the driver was cleared and was taken to the Kitsap County Jail for booking, and jailed. Bail was set at $10,000.

The Mazda, which received extensive front end damage, was towed from the scene and impounded by police.

Bainbridge Police Chief Matthew Hamner said he could not comment at length on the case, but said the girl who was taken to Harborview has since been reported in stable condition.

Hamner said anyone getting behind a steering wheel should think before they turn on the ignition.

“Impairment causes poor decision-making and that leads, many times, to lifelong consequences that are both devastating to the victims, the drivers and others involved.

“That’s the tragedy, really. Everybody suffers,” Hamner said.

People should ask themselves, “Am I in the right condition to be operating this vehilce?” Hamner said.

“If you’re not; if there’s any question — don’t do it,” he added.

“Uber. Taxi. Friends, family. Walk, public transportation. There are all kinds of options that are much, much safer than risking some type of accident or incident that leads to serious consequences.”

The driver was charged with one count of vehicle assault, which can result in a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. He was also charged with DUI with the special allegation of having a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher.