Itchy mustache quite the tickler as car crashes into trees

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 10, 2017

ARLINGTON — A 70-year-old Blaine man faulted an itchy mustache for his car crashing into a patch of trees near Arlington.

He was not hurt.

The man was driving south on I-5 near the exit for the Smokey Point Rest Area around 1:30 p.m. He told a Washington State Patrol trooper that his mustache itched.

“He looked up in the mirror and started itching it. Next thing he knew, he was off in the grass,” said Sgt. Mark Francis with the State Patrol.

His 1989 Honda Civic crossed a grassy area and collided with trees, Francis said. A trooper cited him for negligent driving.

Francis said distracted driving encompasses more than texting and talking on the phone. People can be ticketed for anything that might be distracting, such as putting on make up or driving with a pet in their lap.