PORT ANGELES — A 33-year-old Clallam County man was charged Tuesday after deputies say they rescued his sleeping infant from a hot car he was passed out in.
Brian Paul Kilmer, who lives just west of Lake Crescent, was charged in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday with driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled substance and use of drug paraphernalia.
He was being held in the Clallam County jail on $5,000 bail.
Deputies rescued Kilmer’s 1-year-old daughter Sunday after Kilmer parked the car in direct sunlight and passed out, court records say. After Kilmer was arrested, the child was returned to her mother, court records say.
At 2:06 p.m. Sunday, deputies investigated a report that a man had driven erratically into the Salt Creek Recreation Area before parking his vehicle and passing out, records say.
A witness told deputies the vehicle was “swerving all over the road” on state Highway 112. The witness told deputies he watched the driver park and then pass out but that he had not seen the child.
When the first deputy arrived, he found Kilmer unconscious in the driver’s seat of a 2004 Ford Mustang.
The deputy said he saw keys in the ignition and drug paraphernalia — burned aluminum — in a cup holder near Kilmer. A sleeping child was in the back seat.
The child was sweating and had drenched hair, red cheeks and flushed skin, according to court records.
All the vehicle’s windows were rolled up, except the driver’s window, which was open a few inches. It was about 82 degrees at the time.
“The car was hot, muggy and in direct sunlight,” Deputy Paul Federline wrote in his report of the incident.
Federline wrote that he knocked on the window until Kilmer woke up. Kilmer appeared disoriented and confused, according to the report.
The deputy woke Kilmer up and arrested him. The child was removed from the vehicle and moved to a cooler spot.
Deputies searched Kilmer and found methamphetamine in a small bag in Kilmer’s pants, records say.
They obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and said they found several pieces of drug paraphernalia. In the car, they said they found several straws with melt marks and residue, a pipe and three syringes. They also said they discovered three prescription pills.
Kilmer told Federline he was possibly seen driving erratically because he was looking at his phone for directions while driving, court records say.
He said he doesn’t use drugs and that the aluminum foil found in his cup holder was from a sandwich he had bought. He didn’t have a response when asked about burn marks on the foil, records say.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.