A 29-year-old man wanted for multiple crimes led Thurston County deputies on a motor vehicle chase along the Chehalis Western Trail Wednesday morning.
The pursuit began on Rich Road Southeast, continued on a long stretch of the Chehalis Western Trail and ended in a crash on 26th Avenue Northeast, according to social media posts and a video shared by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.
Court records show the driver had at least eight prior criminal convictions and a bench warrant from Thurston County Superior Court for his arrest.
"Just another man with significant history of assaulting law enforcement with a deadly weapon, eluding, burglary, theft, and lying about his name who thought he could continue to do whatever he wanted in our county," Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a Facebook post. "You thought wrong."
The warrant listed several crimes the man is accused of, including attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and third-degree driving while license suspended or revoked.
After Wednesday's arrest, deputies booked the man into the county jail on suspicion of several additional crimes: eluding police, obstructing a law enforcement officer, driving under the influence, first-degree criminal impersonation, and third-degree driving while license suspended, according to the jail log.
The driver reportedly fled from a deputy who initially stopped him on Rich Road, according to a Sheriff's Office post. A passenger got out of the vehicle and the driver allegedly gave a false name during the stop.
Deputies established reasonable suspicion for driving under the influence and pursued the man through Lacey. He eventually turned onto the Chehalis Western Trail, driving at speeds of more than 60 miles per hour, the post says.
Video from a patrol vehicle shows the driver going the wrong way on roundabouts and speeding past road work, stop signs and pedestrians. On the trail, the driver sped past dog walkers who moved to the side.
"Citizens on the trail were able to see and hear the lights and sirens and get out of the way," the post says.
The driver exited the trail onto 26th Ave Northeast, according to the post. The video shows a deputy conduct a PIT, or precision immobilization technique, maneuver that forced the truck to spin around in a mud field.
Rather than stop there, the video shows the driver accelerate in reverse down the roadway and into a private driveway where he struck an unoccupied trailer. Another deputy then used the front of their patrol vehicle to pin the truck against the trailer.
Deputies surrounded the truck and ordered the driver to show his hands and exit the vehicle. The Sheriff's Office post says the driver was "combative" and refused to follow commands.
The video shows deputies unable to open the driver side door. The driver appears to rev up the engine and the truck's wheels began spinning, creating a cloud of smoke.
Deputies broke open the driver side window and used a taser against the driver, according to the post and video. They then unlocked the door and forcibly removed the driver.
The post alleges deputies found drug paraphernalia inside the truck.
During the pursuit, the driver allegedly caused a low-impact collision between two uninvolved motorists that tried to get out of his way, according to the post. The motorists were evaluated and reportedly appeared to be "okay."
The Sheriff's Office also alleged the vehicle the man drove had an "extensive history with prior eluding," per the post.
Deputies reportedly arrested a different man, who has a felony criminal history and a reputation for stealing cars, using that same vehicle last week.
In another post, Sanders said it was "nothing short of a miracle" that deputies repeatedly engage with "dangerous" repeat offenders without using deadly force.
"This is a public safety nightmare, and it will not get better until we see reform on how we deal with predictably violent, dangerous, repeat offenders," Sanders said. "Unacceptable."
