MARYSVILLE — By the patrol officer’s estimate, the driver reached speeds of more than 150 mph in his black Pontiac GTO on 64th Street in Marysville early Friday morning.
It is a stretch of roadway where the speed limit is 45 mph.
The Marysville officer followed at a distance. It was too dangerous for a high-speed chase.
As he approached Highway 9, the officer looked for any signs that the Pontiac had turned north or south.
At the three-way intersection, he noticed what appeared to be a dust cloud or smoke, then spotted the mangled car high on an embankment.
The car was empty.
A police dog was brought in a little after 1 a.m. to look for the driver. It tracked down a man’s black shoe that was bagged as evidence.
Police on Saturday night arrested a 34-year-old Lake Stevens man they believe is the owner of both the missing shoe and the damaged car. They also believe he was the one who endangered lives of other drivers trying to outrace police. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of attempting to elude police and giving a false report.
Police allege that he reported his car stolen on Saturday. When they asked him about bruising on his left shoulder consistent with seat belt friction, he left without answering more questions.
Police learned that the man had been at a friend’s house the night before. The friend said the suspect left late that night but appeared on his front porch early the next morning looking tired. He reportedly told his friend he’d been involved in an accident. He also was wearing new shoes.
The friend dropped the suspect off at his home.
Police got a search warrant to take DNA swabs and photographs of marks on the suspect’s body. His legs had scrapes and bruises police believed were consistent with being in a crash and running through brush.
At that point, the man allegedly admitted he was driving the car.
Police asked him about the missing shoe. The suspect said he lost both shoes in the crash. He said he bought a pair of new shoes at Walmart before hoofing it back to his friend’s house.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com
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