A 33-year-old Oak Harbor man was caught hiding in the Dairy Queen bathroom after speeding away from police and crashing his car in the middle of the city on July 25, according to court documents.

Richard C. Borgeson appeared in Island County Superior Court July 26. Judge Christon Skinner found probable cause existed to believe Borgeson may have committed the crimes of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, hit and run, reckless driving and driving while license suspended.

The judge set Borgeson’s bail at a $10,000 bond or $1,000 in cash.

An officer with the Oak Harbor Police Department was patrolling on Southeast Bayshore Drive in the afternoon and saw a white car with expired tabs. The officer turned on his emergency lights and tried to pull the car over, but the driver — later identified as Borgeson — sped off, crossing into an oncoming lane and almost hitting two different cars, the officer wrote in his report on the case.

The officer decided not to pursue the car because of safety issues and turned off the flashing lights.

A short time later, a dispatcher informed the officer of an accident involving the same car at the intersection of Pioneer Way and Highway 20. Witnesses said the driver of the car got out and ran off toward the Haggen store.

The officer spoke to the driver of the other car, which was a new Tesla with a 360-degree camera view. The video showed the white car going through a red light at a high rate of speed and almost striking another vehicle. The car then lost control and hit the curb, flew into the air, came back down and struck the Tesla, the report states.

Soon afterward, three officers discovered Borgeson hiding in the restaurant restroom. Borgeson was allegedly in the process of changing his clothes. He told the officers to apologize to the driver of the car he hit, the report states.

In court, Borgeson’s attorney explained that his client used to be homeless, but now has a job and a home where he helps care for a roommate’s child. He became emotional in court and said he had tried to be law-abiding but had gotten scared.

The case marks yet another felony-eluding case in a year marked with record numbers of police chase arrests in Island County.