Driver leads high-speed chase through 2 counties because he was ‘bored’

A Thurston County man led multiple police agencies in a sometimes dangerous pursuit that spanned two counties and 49 miles on Saturday evening because he was “bored,” the county sheriff’s office said.

Deputies said David B. McNalley, 30, led cars from several police agencies from Tumwater to Pierce County and back again, reaching speeds up to 85 mph before he crashed into a fence near Libby Road Northeast.

“He said he was just bored,” said Sgt. Dave Odegaard with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

The chase began when a 1994 Mercury Sable tore through an intersection at Henderson Boulevard Southeast and 53rd Avenue Southeast in Tumwater at 4:38 p.m. Saturday, Odegaard said.

Burning rubber, the driver attracted the attention of a sheriff’s deputy, who tried to pull him over.

“He took off,” Odegaard said. “The deputy felt like he basically instigated this pursuit. It went from the Tumwater area into the Olympia city limits and then onto I-5.”

The pursuit went on for more than an hour, crossing into Pierce County and circling back around into Olympia. A handful of police agencies were involved.

McNalley “was passing cars on the shoulder of the road down near Nisqually,” Odegaard said. Sometimes reaching 85 miles per hour, the pursuit “was discontinued three times due to speed and public safety.”

The Mercury circled back into Olympia. Deputies set up spike strips in the area of 36th Avenue Northeast and Libby Road Northeast. In trying to avoid them, the driver lost control and drove onto a farm, hitting a fence at about 5:45 p.m. There was minor damage to the fence, Odegaard said, but no one was hurt.

McNalley didn’t appear to be impaired by drugs or alcohol, Odegaard said. He had no warrants, no prior convictions and a valid driver’s license .So why did he do it?

“He said he was just bored,” Odegaard said. “It looks like to us right now … he instigated this pursuit because he was bored and just wanted to do it.”

McNalley has been charged with three counts of attempting to elude a police vehicle, but other charges could be pending, Odegaard said. He is being held without bail in the Thurston County jail until his arraignment Monday.

Odegaard said it was an unusual chase. Usually, people being pursued don’t come back to the same jurisdiction where the chase started.

This story was originally published July 23, 2016 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Driver leads high-speed chase through 2 counties because he was ‘bored’."