Thurston County police use a PIT maneuver on a repeat DUI suspect
By: -----
Thurston County, WA - Olympia police made a traffic stop for a driver on suspicion of DUI. The driver refused to identify themselves and fled the scene, nearly striking a pedestrian in the process.
A Thurston County Lieutenant picked up the vehicle after it evaded Olympia police when it was getting on I-5. The suspect refused to pull over and intentionally ran vehicles off the road on I-5 and Capitol Blvd. The vehicle also attempted to hit an assisting Tumwater officer and swerved at another police vehicle.
Officers were able to successfully complete a pit maneuver on the suspect's vehicle while traveling approximately 66 mph on Old Highway 99. The vehicle impacted a power pole and left the driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, with substantial injuries. The suspect was transported to Harborview Medical Center and is in the Intensive Care Unit.
A passenger in the vehicle was wearing her seatbelt and sustained minor injuries. The passenger had been involved in a separate DUI collision in June, crashing into another vehicle while driving and causing it to roll in Mason County.
Alcohol containers were observed in the car, and a search warrant was authorized to test for impairment.
Once released from Harborview, the suspect will be booked into Thurston County Jail on two charges of first-degree assault, DUI, driving with a suspended license, and two counts of attempting to elude.
The suspect has numerous prior DUI and eluding arrests and was booked less than a week prior to this incident for possession of a stolen car and third-degree assault. He was found in a stolen car while armed with a handgun, assaulting Lacey Police Officers when they tried to arrest him. He was released on $10,000 bail.