EVERETT — A felon in a SUV that had been reported stolen was arrested early Wednesday morning for repeatedly attempting to elude police by driving the wrong direction on I-5 at speeds reaching 100 mph south of Everett.
The Kent man, 29, was booked into the Snohomish County Jail. He also was wanted on a state Department of Corrections warrant.
It was the second time in less than 24 hours the suspect is believed to have driven the wrong way on I-5, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
The second incident ended around 2:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-5 near 196th Street SW when the driver lost control. Neither the man nor a woman passenger received serious injuries, Ireton said. He was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation before he was booked. She was not arrested.
The suspect, who is on state supervision, was wanted for failing to report to his corrections officer. He was convicted of child rape in Snohomish County in a 2004 case. Other convictions include assault, possession of stolen property, attempted first-degree theft, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.
A deputy used his patrol car to bump the stolen Chevrolet Blazer, a strategy known as a PIT maneuver.
Moments before, a Washington State Patrol trooper had thrown spike strips over the freeway, but the suspect was able to swerve around them.
The Blazer, by then, had slowed down.
That’s when the deputy bumped the Blazer.
“The contact was not significant,” the deputy wrote in a report. “However, the driver attempted to drive out of the PIT maneuver, causing the vehicle to go onto two wheels and then continue to roll over onto its roof.”
The Blazer slid on its roof before stopping in the fast lane of southbound I-5.
It was the second chase believed to involve the same suspect in less than a day.
On Tuesday, shortly before noon, a deputy on patrol reported that he was pursuing a stolen vehicle matching the description of the Blazer at the intersection of Butternut Road and Larch Way in Lynnwood. The vehicle entered the freeway, traveling northbound on I-5. It later got onto the southbound lanes, still traveling northbound.
The pursuit was ended because of concerns for public safety, Ireton said.
Around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, another deputy noticed a vehicle matching the description from the previous incident at a gas station on 128th Street SE in Everett.
The deputy attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the suspect drove off and entered I-5 traveling southbound in the northbound lanes, Ireton said.
The deputy did not follow behind the Blazer, but instead traveled alongside of it in the southbound lanes of I-5.
The SUV then crossed over the median and into the southbound lanes, before it was stopped.
When the vehicle rolled, several pieces of property, including mail and electronic equipment in shopping bags, were strewn on the roadway. Detectives will try to determine if the items were stolen, Ireton said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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