A Kent man driving a stolen truck in Lakewood led law enforcement on a wrong-way chase on Interstate 5 and state Route 16 on Sunday morning before a Washington State Patrol trooper stopped him with his patrol vehicle, officials say.
Lakewood police were dispatched to a pair of vehicle prowling reports about 6:45 a.m., and when they found the truck involved, they determined it was stolen, State Patrol spokeswoman Johnna Batiste said. The driver of the truck fled when police tried to pull him over, sparking a pursuit.
The truck went north onto southbound I-5 from the Gravelly Lake Drive offramp, Batiste said, nearly hitting a trooper before exiting at Bridgeport Way Southwest.
“An unsuspecting sergeant was on a traffic stop at New York Avenue and this guy almost took her doors off,” Batiste said.
Police and troopers continued to follow the truck through the streets of Lakewood and Tacoma before it got onto SR 16 at the South 19th Street exit, going east in the westbound lanes. At one point, a Lakewood officer was able to deploy stop sticks, puncturing the right side tires on the truck.
The driver tried to get off at the Sixth Avenue exit, Batiste said, but saw a trooper at the base of the onramp, flipped a U-turn and got back onto SR 16.
Trooper Bryce Schramm, coming from Gig Harbor, knew that the truck would have to go through a blind corner near the Sixth Avenue interchange, Batiste said.
“He knew the traffic behind him was going to have no warning whatsoever if this Ford F-250 comes around the corner the wrong way,” Batiste said.
Schramm pulled into the truck’s way in the corner, wrecking his SUV but disabling the truck in the process.
The driver tried to run away, Batiste said, but Lakewood police were able to arrest him nearby. He had a warrant for motor vehicle theft.
The driver and his passenger, a 31-year-old Tacoma man who kept his hands outside the window of the truck for much of the pursuit, were both hospitalized with minor injuries, Batiste said.
Schramm suffered minor injuries and was taken to a Tacoma hospital for evaluation, but he returned to work within a couple hours.
Troopers placed the Kent man, 26, under arrest on suspicion of vehicular assault and reckless endangerment.
SR 16 was blocked for about three hours as troopers investigated the wreck.
