Thurston County assault, eluding suspect said he ‘wanted to catch the lights’

A Thurston County judge set bail at $7,500 on Monday for Ronald J. Hart, who is suspected of speeding away from sheriff’s deputies and ramming his Honda Civic into a pickup truck.

Hart, 32, was arrested early Friday (July 29), and appeared before Thurston County Superior Court Judge Erik Price on Monday. Price found probable cause for three charges: second-degree assault, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, and driving under the influence. At the time of his arrest, Hart also was wanted on an outstanding Department of Corrections warrant.

Deputy Prosecutor Rosemary Hewitson said Hart has at least 10 prior felony convictions, and described his actions as “beyond reckless.”

In addition to the bail, Price ordered that Hart be prohibited from operating any motor vehicles.

“That means no driving,” Price said. “No car, truck, ATV or anything.”

Court documents give the following account:

A Thurston County Sheriff’s deputy patrolling the Nisqually Valley noticed a black Honda Civic at about 6:30 a.m. Friday. When the deputy ran the plate, he learned that the car had been sold in 2015, and the owner had failed to transfer the title. He attempted to pull over the car at the intersection of Nisqually Park Drive and Nisqually Park Loop.

The driver, later identified as Hart, then made a u-turn, driving over some grass. He traveled north on Nisqually Park Drive at about 50 miles per hour in a residential 25-mph zone. He slowed down to turn onto Sixth Avenue, braking so hard that smoke came from the car’s tires, deputies said.

The car accelerated back up to 50 mph, then turned left onto Old Pacific Highway without stopping at the stop sign. The vehicle traveled south, driving on the wrong side of the road.

Hart slammed on the brake at Kuhlman Road, as if to turn right onto the road. But a second deputy was approaching from that direction, so the vehicle continued on Old Pacific Highway. It eventually turned left onto Durgin Road and proceeded at 80 miles per hour in a 35-mph zone.

The car turned into Lakeside Industries at 11029 Durgin Road, and slammed into a Ford F-450 attempting to leave the business. Hart continued trying to accelerate the vehicle into the car, and then tried to back the car away from the truck. The first deputy arrived on the scene, and struck the car with his patrol vehicle, preventing it from leaving.

Deputies said Hart refused to stop the vehicle, so the deputy used his baton to break the driver’s window. The deputy then opened the door and pulled Hart out of the car. Hart reportedly told the deputy that he fled because he was wanted on a Department of Corrections warrant.

Passengers in the Honda Civic told the deputy that Hart had injected methamphetamine a few hours earlier. He told deputies that he had taken Molly, which he described as a combination of methamphetamine and mushrooms.

Hart was taken to Capital Medical Center to have blood drawn, and to have his injuries evaluated. There, deputies reported that he apologized for his actions and said, “I was just trying to catch the lights.” When asked what he meant, Hart reportedly said, “When you’re high on Molly, everything just...” He trailed off and didn’t finish his sentence.

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Thurston County assault, eluding suspect said he ‘wanted to catch the lights’."