The potent opioid can have dangerous effects even at small doses.

EVERETT — A man wearing a fentanyl patch caused a crash Thursday evening in Everett, according to police.

He was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, for at least the fifth time in his life, a probable cause statement says.

One witness told police the man, 53, staggered out of his GMC pickup after the collision. It happened around 5 p.m. at 19th Street and Broadway. At first the man told an officer he wasn’t on medication, but later recalled that he had a fentanyl patch on his upper arm.

The potent opioid can have dangerous effects even at small doses. Most cases of harm and overdose are tied to illegally made fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All of the man’s past DUI arrests were more than a decade old, according to police. Records showed he had a more recent conviction for vehicular assault. He was arrested for investigation of felony DUI.