Woman arrested for pretending to be suspected DUI driver, Thurston Sheriff says
A 58-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of multiple crimes Friday night, including aiding and abetting driving under the influence, according to Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders and jail log information.
Around 10 p.m. Friday, deputies were dispatched to a single-car crash at 46th Avenue and Libby Road Northeast in Olympia.
Once there, deputies spoke to a woman who allegedly claimed she was the driver.
“Witnesses disputed this, however, stating the driver was a male,” said Sheriff Sanders in a social media post. “The driver was located and was extremely intoxicated and uncooperative.”
The man was arrested and restrained, Sanders said. It wasn’t clear if the man was injured in the crash.
Deputies continued to investigate and learned the woman responded to the scene, helped the driver escape, then lied to the deputies by pretending to be the one who crashed, according to the sheriff’s post.
Sanders also said that the actual driver threatened to kill the deputies.
“A warrant is being applied for the driver’s blood,” he said in his post. “Once that is complete, he will be booked for DUI, felony harassment threats to kill, resisting arrest, driving on a suspended license, and driving without an ignition interlock device.”
It wasn’t clear Sunday if the man has been booked because there was nothing reflecting those charges in Saturday’s or Sunday’s Thurston County jail log.
The woman was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a law enforcement officer, making a false or misleading statement, aiding and abetting driving under the influence, and aiding and abetting driving while license suspended, the jail information shows.
This story was originally published July 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM.
