LACEY, Wash. — Two Thurston County deputies were injured during a DUI pursuit early Friday morning after a suspect rammed into their car.
At around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning, a deputy attempted to stop a black Ford truck for swerving between lanes and suspicion of a DUI on Martin Way East. When the officer provided the plate details to dispatch, it came back as being registered to a different vehicle. When the suspect fled northbound on Interstate 5, the deputy chased after.
In between exits 111 and 114, the suspect drove across the median of the highway and onto I-5 south. The Thurston County sheriff alongside multiple other deputies joined in the pursuit as the suspect fled back into Lacey.
A deputy was able to conduct a successful PIT maneuver in an attempt to stop the driver. In response, the driver rammed another deputy and their recruit, sending both to the hospital in an ambulance. After that, deputies requested the help of the Washington State Patrol's and King County's helicopters, but they were unable to respond.
Numerous other PIT maneuvers were conducted throughout the pursuit. The truck drove onto Capitol City Golf Course where deputies lost the suspect for a short time before they were able to find him again on Rainier Road.
After two more PIT maneuvers and a tactical vehicle intervention, the truck was pushed onto a field. The driver then sped up and smashed through a fence landing back onto Old Highway 99. After the truck lost a tire, Sheriff Derek Sanders requested the next patrol deputy in a Ford F150 to ram the suspect, hopefully putting the car out of service. Halfway through the city of Tenino, the suspect's transmission blew. The driver surrendered with help from a police K9.
The suspect was arrested for drug DUI, two counts of first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, multiple counts of first-degree malicious mischief, and attempting to elude police.
The Thurston County Sheriff's Office said the pursuit lasted for over half an hour.
