ROCKPORT — Police are still trying to sort out the circumstances that led to a Boston man's wild Sunday morning ride — when he lost control of his car on Haven Avenue, tore through a garden, clipped a shed, then launched over a fence and granite wall before coming to rest at the base of a tree in a former selectman's back yard.

The driver, Ian Gardiner, of 221 Columbus Ave., Boston, told emergency officials he lost control of the vehicle after "blacking out," but officers at the scene didn't believe him, Rockport Police Sgt. Timothy Frithsen said.

Yesterday, police filed charges of operating to endanger and impeded operation of a motor vehicle against the 63-year-old man, based on their belief that his dog — riding on Gardiner's lap between his chest and jacket — somehow distracted him.

The small dog sustained an injury to its eye after the driver's side airbag of the Audi sedan deployed in its face when the car hit a tree in the yard of former Selectman Jonathan Weaver.

"There was a loud scraping noise, like a snowplow," Weaver's wife, Sandy, said yesterday, adding that she was glad Gardiner was not more seriously hurt. Gardiner, who was complaining of neck pain, was transported to Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester about a half hour after the 9:15 a.m. crash.

Despite not believing Gardiner's explanation, police still filed an "immediate threat" complaint with the Registry of Motor Vehicles on Sunday in a bid to have Gardiner's license suspended pending a medical examination. As of yesterday morning, however, Gardiner's license had not been suspended, Frithsen said.

A call to the police station to check on the status of the license complaint late yesterday afternoon was not returned by press time. No one picked up the phone at Gardiner's Columbus Avenue apartment in Boston last night.

The car traveled some 300 feet at an estimated 30 mph through two backyards before finally coming to a halt.

Gardiner told the Weavers he is an animal lover and was in the neighborhood to watch the seals off Hoop Pole Cove. His vehicle came within a few feet of the Weavers' rabbit cages, but did not threaten the family's ponies.

"We do not have any estimates of damage to our property, but it will not be a large sum," Weaver said.

The dog is expected to fully recover from its injuries, she added.

Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.