“This could have been a loss of life to the suspect or my deputy or both of them," Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said.

Jellison was arrested for DUI in King County just days before the crash, but was allowed behind the wheel again because the DUI was a misdemeanor.

Mansfield said it took all of his deputy’s skills to swerve out of Jellison’s away to avoid a deadly head-on collision.

Mansfield was frustrated to learn Jellison had been arrested a week prior to the crash. “Two times in less than a week, we've got a problem here," Mansfield said.

Jellison faces new DUI charges and law enforcement officials in two counties are hoping if convicted he faces a harsh punishment.

“What’s it going to take? How many DUI convictions is it going to take, until it becomes a felony and they do some real serious prison time?" King County Sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart said.