‘Just take me to prison,’ Deschutes Parkway driver says after being stopped by trooper

An 18-year-old woman who was at the center of a series of car crashes on or near Deschutes Parkway on Sunday appeared in Thurston County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax found probable cause for a charge of eluding a police vehicle, a felony, and set bail at $3,500 for Isabelle L. Martin-Tafoya. That amount was lower than the $5,000 bail requested by deputy prosecuting attorney Jim Powers, but Kortokrax did agree with the state’s recommendation that the woman not be allowed to drive.

“You are not to drive while this matter is pending,” Kortokrax said. Her arraignment is set for Jan. 30.

Martin-Tafoya also was arrested on suspicion of some hit-and-run related matters, according to Thurston County jail information, but those possible charges were identified as gross misdemeanors which likely will be heard in Thurston County District Court.

Probable cause documents give the following account of the Sunday afternoon incident:

About noon Sunday, just as the annual Peace Walk was beginning at Capitol Lake, a Washington State Patrol trooper was parked at Heritage Park when the trooper overheard that Olympia police were trying to locate a hit-and-run suspect. The suspect was driving a Subaru station wagon.

The trooper looked to the left at the Heritage Park parking lot at Fifth Avenue and Simmons Street and there was a vehicle matching the description. The trooper approached the car and the suspect took off, turning left onto Fifth Avenue. She crashed into a light-colored minivan, which caused her to lose control and drive up into the park along Fifth Avenue, nearly striking pedestrians and a dog.

She drove back onto Fifth Avenue, then merged onto Deschutes Parkway, driving at 55 miles per hour, according to the trooper. Seconds later she swerved onto the bicycle path and crashed head-on into another car. That vehicle was later identified as a Kia.

“The impact caused the victim’s vehicle to rotate three times and the suspect’s vehicle to rotate and slide off the road to the west,” the probable cause documents read. “The collision also caused countless vehicle parts/debris and oil to be strewn throughout the scene.”

The woman climbed out of her driver’s side window and attempted to flee. The trooper told her to get on the ground four times, but finally had to take her to the ground. He ordered her to roll over and put her hands behind her back.

“Just take me to prison,” the woman said.

The trooper later determined that the woman was driving her mother’s car and that she hadn’t taken her mental health-related medications for about two weeks.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 5:06 PM with the headline "‘Just take me to prison,’ Deschutes Parkway driver says after being stopped by trooper."