Story Published:
Dec 2, 2004 at 8:54 AM PDT
Story Updated:
Aug 31, 2006 at 1:48 AM PDT
PIERCE COUNTY - A Washington State Patrol trooper is recovering from minor injuries after a police chase led to a head-on collision between a trooper's car and the suspect's car.
Johnny Alexander with the Washington State Patrol said a motorcycle trooper doing speed enforcement on I-5 southbound near Bridgeport Way in Tacoma clocked a Nissan Pathfinder doing 74 mph.
As the trooper began his pursuit, a run of the car's information turned up that the car was stolen.
The ensuing chase reached speeds up to 95 mph before the suspect exited the freeway 5 miles later at the Fort Lewis exit.
The suspect then went west until he encountered some train tracks, at which point he went south on the train tracks, narrowly missing a moving train.
About a mile later in DuPont, the suspect got off the tracks and encountered a Fish and Wildlife officer. He then veered into a business parking lot and tried to make it back on to the roadway via driving up on a sidewalk, but that's when he collided with a State Patrol trooper's car head-on.
The trooper was transported to Madigan Army Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The suspect was taken into custody and then transported to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries as well.
Troopers say the suspect is a 27-year-old man from Astoria, Oregon. He was booked for felony eluding, possession of stolen property and second-degree assault. He also has outstanding charges from Oregon.