Driver flees Olympia police on US 101 with deflated tires on RV reported stolen
A stolen 40-foot-long RV on rims drove northbound on U.S. 101 in Olympia on Tuesday as several police vehicles followed.
Olympia police eventually arrested the driver on Kaiser Road Southwest, Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian Wednesday. The driver was booked into Thurston County jail on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle from Pierce County.
Police also arrested a 47-year-old female passenger and booked her into the Olympia City Jail on suspicion of violating a no contact order with the driver, Lower said. Another passenger was released at the scene, he added.
The incident started at 7:54 p.m. when police were dispatched to the parking lot of the Safeway on Harrison Avenue to a call about a suspicious vehicle, Lower said. The caller reportedly told dispatch they recognized the vehicle as reported stolen.
At the scene, Lower said an officer reviewed the vehicle’s license plate and confirmed it was a stolen diesel RV from Pierce County. The officer then placed a spike strip behind the back tires and waited for backup, he said.
Once backup arrived, Lower said officers tried to contact the people inside the RV over a loudspeaker, but they did not respond.
“The motor home suddenly started up and started driving out of the parking lot,” Lower said. “The spike strips were successful. They popped the back tires of the motor home.”
The driver fled on Cooper Point Road and then onto U.S. 101. About a half-dozen officers followed the vehicle at a distance as its back tires deflated.
Lower said police created a moving roadblock because they feared the driver of the RV would lose control of the vehicle as smoke emanated from its tires.
“I think our officers did a good job of protecting the public here,” Lower said. “They were very clear that they were trying to prevent people from getting near this thing.”
The driver eventually exited the highway at Mud Bay Road and stopped near Kaiser Road and Harrison Avenue. At that point, the two women fled from the vehicle but were quickly detained “without incident,” Lower said.
Police surrounded the RV and attempted to contact the driver, Lower said. After several attempts, he said the driver came out of the RV “without incident” as well.
After interviewing the women, Lower said police determined they could not prove one of them knew the RV was stolen so they let her go. No people were injured during the incident, he added.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 1:26 PM.
