A Centralia man is facing felony charges for allegedly following his ex-girlfriend from Centralia to Chehalis, intentionally crashing into her car on Interstate 5 and continuing to chase her at speeds of up to 90 mph until a Washington State Patrol trooper intervened Friday morning.
A trooper initiated a traffic stop on a black Dodge Charger traveling 90 mph that “appeared to be racing a second vehicle” sometime before 7:30 a.m. on Friday, June 14, according to court documents. Upon contacting the driver, who was holding a card with information from the Hope Alliance, a local resource center for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, the trooper learned the driver was fleeing from her ex-boyfriend, identified as Miguel Luis Perez Burkhart, 18.
Perez Burkhart was reportedly driving a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox at the time of the incident.
A deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office had reportedly responded to a dispute between Burkhart and his ex-girlfriend over the ownership of the Charger earlier that day, according to court documents. The deputy reported that he separated the two.
The woman reported a third party picked her up from her apartment in Centralia and she began driving with the third party as a passenger toward Walmart in Chehalis.
While driving, about 10 minutes after the contact with the deputy, she and the third party reportedly noticed Perez Burkhart was following their vehicle, according to court documents.
As they got onto Interstate 5, Perez Burkhart allegedly “sped up, got onto their side and hit them before speeding off,” according to court documents.
The crash repeatedly occurred on the northbound I-5 ramp on Harrison Avenue, according to court documents.
No injuries were reported in the crash, though the Charger sustained over $750 in damage.
After the crash, Perez Burkhart allegedly “told (the woman) to take an exit, but she was scared and did not want to get hit again,” so she kept driving.
The two vehicles continued driving past Walmart, onto Airport Road and back to Harrison Avenue, at which point the trooper conducted the traffic stop on the Challenger and the Equinox fled the scene.
When questioned by a trooper over the phone, Perez Burkhart reportedly denied driving and reported the dispute the sheriff’s office responded to earlier that day.
However, when contacted again, Perez Burkhart allegedly “admitted he actually had been driving,” admitted to “driving around Centralia and onto the freeway” and admitted “he followed (his ex-girlfriend) past Walmart onto Airport Road all the way to Harrison Avenue because he wanted to talk to her,” according to court documents.
Perez Burkhart was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 7:35 a.m. on June 14, according to jail records.
He was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, June 17, with one count each of second-degree assault, domestic violence; second-degree malicious mischief, domestic violence; reckless endangerment, domestic violence; reckless endangerment; and hit-and-run to an attended vehicle.
While Perez Burkhart has no criminal convictions or history failing to appear in court on his record, Judge James Lawler ruled Monday that substantial bail was necessary in this case, setting bail at $50,000.
“This was a real dangerous situation. It’s a threat to community safety,” Lawler said of his bail decision.
Arraignment was scheduled for Thursday, June 20.
