Motorcyclist races away from Thurston deputy, admits it was ‘dumb’
A 38-year-old man was arrested Friday on suspicion of attempting to elude police after he raced away from a Sheriff’s deputy for 30 miles, Thurston County Superior Court records show.
The court records give the following account:
About 4:30 a.m. Friday, the Thurston County Sheriff’s deputy was headed north in the 900 block of Old Pacific Highway Southeast when he spotted the motorcycle, which didn’t have a license plate and was speeding. The deputy initiated a traffic stop.
The 38-year-old motorcyclist turned and looked at the deputy, then began to accelerate. The deputy and motorcyclist eventually merged onto the freeway, where the “rider opened up to speeds of more than 100 miles per hour.”
“The rider kept a steady pace of 100 mph northbound on I-5, at one point dropping a blue bag/piece of clothing on the freeway,” the deputy said. “At this time, the rider was occasionally slowing down and splitting cars, then accelerating hard to try and create separation.”
The motorcyclist led the deputy through Tacoma before getting off the freeway at Exit 137.
But not for long.
The motorcyclist turned around and got back on the freeway headed south on I-5 before taking Exit 132 to westbound Highway 16. The rider took the Sprague exit, then reversed course again and got back on westbound Highway 16.
The suspect exited at “1C” and the deputy followed. The rider attempted another u-turn to get back on the freeway, but this time he struck a curb and flipped over his handlebars.
After he was taken into custody, the deputy said the suspect apologized for his actions, “stating that what he did was really dumb.”
In addition to the eluding charge, the rider was booked on suspicion of driving with a suspended license.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
