Deputies arrest wrong-way driver in Thurston County, Sheriff Sanders says
A 42-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of multiple crimes late Saturday night after he fled from law enforcement by driving the wrong way on an area road, Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a social media post.
It all began when a deputy, patrolling Meridian Road, came across a vehicle stopped in the lane of travel. The deputy then observed drug paraphernalia in the driver’s lap as he was dozing off, according to the post.
And then he became more alert, according to Sanders.
“The driver was uncooperative, unwilling to answer questions, and refused to step out of the vehicle,” he wrote. “The driver then rolled the window up, turned the car on, and fled at a high rate of speed the wrong way down the road.”
Deputies pursued and pinned the car in to prevent “any further risk to the public,” Sanders wrote.
The man ultimately was arrested in the area of Reservation Road and Old Pacific Highway on suspicion of driving under the influence, attempting to elude a pursing police vehicle, driving with a suspended license and operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock, according to Thurston County Jail information.
This story was originally published February 15, 2026 at 2:30 PM.
