The suspect who crashed into an embankment outside the Chehalis Avenue Apartments Saturday, March 28, had fled from Cowlitz County, according to Lewis County prosecutors.
Alecsus Dowl, 30, of Oregon, made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday. She faces one felony count of attempting to elude a police vehicle and eight lesser charges for driving under the influence, reckless driving, resisting arrest and other alleged offenses.
A judge set bail at $100,000 cash or bond to reflect the nature of the allegations, the risk to community safety and the defendant’s apparent lack of ties to the community.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Dowl is accused of fleeing a traffic stop in Cowlitz County before leading Washington State Patrol troopers on a high-speed chase north on Interstate 5 into Lewis County. It was a chase that, at one point, topped speeds of 115 mph and included blown red lights, ran stop signs, and two failed attempts to spike the suspect’s tires.
A Lewis County sheriff’s deputy spiked the vehicle’s front passenger tire on the third attempt near milepost 74, according to the affidavit.
The chase continued, however, both off the interstate, then back on, and then off again, until the vehicle “lost control and crashed into (a) rock embankment at the Chehalis Avenue Apartments.”
Eyewitness reports on Saturday noted the large armed police presence gathered around the suspect’s vehicle after it became disabled outside the complex.
According to prosecutors, some 20 officers from different agencies surrounded the suspect, who allegedly refused to obey commands to exit their 2004 Lincoln Navigator with Alaska plates.
Eventually, after “less lethal devices” were used, the suspect exited her vehicle, stumbled, and “had to be assisted in walking,” according to the affidavit.
Prosecutors say she refused to identify herself. Officers ultimately identified her as Dowl through Department of Licensing information from Oregon and Alaska.
According to the affidavit, Dowl had a suspended license in Alaska and no license in Oregon.
Law enforcement reportedly obtained a search warrant for a blood draw for suspected DUI.
Dowl was booked into the Lewis County Jail shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday.
She is scheduled for an arraignment on April 2.
