The driver killed last week after reportedly fleeing from Cowlitz County deputies had a warrant out for her arrest.
Jamesha S. Berryman, 31, of Longview, and her two passengers were killed, according to a Washington State Patrol press release, when she hit a tuck head on around 8:35 p.m. April 30 near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Columbia Street in Kelso. (Previously Kelso police said the crash occurred at the intersection of South Pacific Avenue and Yew Street.)
Kelso police reported last week Berryman fled in her car from Cowlitz County deputies before the crash, but no agencies have released the reason why she was pulled over.
However, court records show a warrant was filed in January for Berryman after she didn’t complete substance abuse treatment, required after her November conviction of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and meth.
Berryman’s passengers were Marcel D. Goodman, 47 of Longview, and Jeremy Pritchard, 32, of Kelso; both died at the hospital, while Berryman died at the scene, state troopers report. No one in Berryman’s car was wearing a seatbelt.
Both people in the truck Berryman hit were also injured, but refused aid at the scene, the state patrol press release states. Benjermen R. Day, 41, of Kelso, was the driver and Joshua D. Cissell, 35, of Wilbur, was his passenger.
Berryman was headed north on Pacific Avenue when she crossed the centerline and hit Day’s Ford Ranger, totaling both vehicles, the press release states.
Trooper Will Finn, a Washington State Patrol spokesperson, said Berryman was pulled over by deputies, and fled, but he didn’t have information on why the traffic stop occurred. He said investigators are still collecting information, including body camera footage.
The state recently loosened its law on law enforcement vehicular pursuits, though Finn didn’t say this incident was a pursuit, just that the driver fled from deputies.
The new law, effective June 6, allows law enforcement to follow vehicles based on reasonable suspicion of any crime or traffic violation, but they must immediately tell a supervisor first.
In 2021, lawmakers made it harder for police to pursue people by requiring probable cause, meaning a higher level of evidence, and only when people are suspected of committing violent crimes, sex crimes or driving intoxicated; the law prohibits car chases for minor offenses, like theft.
