A 26-year-old Stanwood man was arrested Tuesday evening after he allegedly led state troopers on a 52-mile car chase with a 4-year-old girl in the back seat, according to a Washington State Patrol statement.
A state trooper stopped the man, who was driving a pickup, for speeding on Interstate 405 near Highway 520 around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the statement said. When the trooper checked the driver's registration, he noticed there was a protection order against the man involving a young child.
Before the trooper returned to the man's car, the man drove away, leading authorities on a pursuit that continued on to Interstate 5 and spanned three counties, the statement said.
The chase came to an end after troopers used spike strips and a Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver by ramming the pickup and forcing it into a spin, in Skagit County. The girl was unharmed.
The man was arrested without incident and booked into Snohomish County Jail on charges of felony eluding, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and a hit-and-run, the statement said.
Officials later discovered the man is the girl's father, had driven to New Mexico and taken her in violation of the protection order, the statement said.
The girl is being released to her grandmother in Washington, pending being reunited with her mother in New Mexico.
