A 23-year-old Montesano man led police on a dangerous high-speed chase Wednesday afternoon in a stolen pickup truck, said Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers.
The 23-year-old had been at Community Hospital pending a mental health evaluation before he initiated the chase, which Myers said took place on each side of Myrtle Street and involved officers from both Hoquiam and Aberdeen.
Myers said that at approximately 2:30 p.m., Aberdeen Police were advised of the man walking from Community Hospital. A passerby later reported giving the man a ride from the top of the hill down to the area of Dollar Tree.
At 2:45, Hoquiam Sgt. Jeremy Mitchell was dispatched to a car lot in the 2700 block of Simpson Avenue for a report of a suspicious man who had just arrived in a blue and gray, older model Ford pickup. Myers said the man, later identified to be a 23-year-old from Montesano, quickly exited the truck and jumped a six-foot barbed-wire fence into a nearby ally.
When Mitchell checked the truck’s registration, it showed the owner was an older man from Copalis Beach.
After looking for the man for a short time, Mitchell returned to the car lot and found the 23-year-old sitting in the truck, which was parked on the sidewalk. As Mitchell approached the vehicle, the 23-year-old rapidly accelerated out into traffic, nearly striking the patrol car. Upon entering Simpson Avenue, the 23-year-old lost control of the truck and nearly struck a passing car, said Myers.
Mitchell activated his emergency lights and siren, but the man refused to pull over and continued to accelerate, waving back and forth between both lanes of Simpson at a high rate of speed. Mitchell was forced to slow down for heavy traffic in the 3000 block of Simpson during the pursuit but the 23-year-old drove down a parking strip and then up onto the sidewalk to get around cars.
When the man entered Aberdeen, Cpl. Andy Snodgrass parked on a side street intending to deploy spike strips, but the man passed by the patrol car a high rate of speed, only missing the Snodgrass’ car by inches.
Entering the corner from Simpson Avenue onto Park Street, the man lost control of the pickup and apparently struck the rear of a green Jeep in traffic, with the pickup sustaining damage to the left front corner, making the vehicle difficult to steer.
When police tried to cut off the pickup, the 23-year-old threw the truck into reverse and careened across both lanes of traffic, over an adjacent grass strip and into the corner parking lot near the old middle Swanson’s sore. He continued to reverse until he struck the corner of an unoccupied U-Haul truck, where Mitchell used his patrol car’s push bars to pin the side of the truck to prevent the man from driving off.
The man was pulled from the truck and taken into custody. No one was injured during the pursuit, according to Myers.
It was discovered that the man had stolen the pickup from the PUD parking lot. Myers said the owner had left the keys in the ignition while he went inside to pay his power bill.
Hoquiam officers were also advised the man had forced his way into a home in the 2700 block of Aberdeen Avenue in Hoquiam between the time he stole the truck and led Sgt. Mitchell on the pursuit, acting strangely and asking if he could use the phone.
Aberdeen Police are investigating the stolen vehicle and related traffic collisions and Hoquiam is investigating the trespass and the man’s attempt to elude a pursuing police vehicle.
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