Suspect rams Bellevue police cars, carjacks another vehicle, and drives wrong way on I-90
By: Bellevue Police arrested a man who rammed two patrol cars, carjacked a second vehicle, and drove the wrong way on I-90 during a pursuit on Wednesday.
The chase started around 3:25 p.m. when officers at Factoria Mall noticed a vehicle that was reported stolen. When officers approached the car, police say the suspect intentionally rammed two police cars, injuring an officer.
Police say he also rammed into occupied vehicles in the parking lot in his attempt to escape. One of those vehicles had a few teenagers inside.
Police then initiated a pursuit, which continued on eastbound I-90 through Bellevue, Issaquah, and into Snoqualmie, reaching speeds of over 100 mph.
The suspect vehicle was disabled with spike strips in Snoqualmie, and the suspect crashed near a golf course. After police swarmed the crashed car, the suspect emerged in a second stolen vehicle near where he had just crashed.
The suspect continued to drive recklessly in the carjacked vehicle, at one point driving westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-90.
The pursuit was then terminated, but Guardian One continued to track the suspect from the air.
"Unfortunately for him, what he didn’t count on was the King County helicopter," said officer Seth Tyler.
Court documents state that at a nearby golf course, an officer saw "a maintenance man at the golf course screaming and pointing at a Black Subaru as it was revving its engine."
The suspect was accused of driving towards the group of officers and patrol vehicles.
He’s then seen from chopper footage in a stolen Subaru tearing out of the trees on the course, prompting another pursuit.
In the final moments of the pursuit, he crashed through a gate at a tree farm and ditched the vehicle, with thermal imaging showing him standing in the woods. Then, he moves towards the Snoqualmie River, a King County Sheriff K-9 officer, not far behind.
He’s seen on camera trying to change his clothes and shoes before heading towards the river. Tyler said he was on asteep ledge. When officers found him, they had to pull him up from the riverbank.
"Once he was confronted by two deputies with a K-9 officer, he did surrender," said Tyler.
Bellevue Police are forwarding charges for possession of a stolen vehicle, first-degree assault, hit-and-run, and attempting to elude police.
Bail has been set at $500,000.