Escape attempt gone wrong: 'You can't make this stuff up'
MOSES LAKE, Wash.-- An inmate who tried to run from corrections officers during an outing found himself begging them for help just several hours later.
Darrell Smith, 39, was arrested on Saturday for investigation of kidnapping and robbery. He was scheduled to appear before a judge in Ephrata on Monday morning, but before the hearing, Smith said he felt sick and needed to go back to jail.
While headed back to jail under the supervision of a correctional deputy, Smith managed to pull away and run off.
Smith ran through downtown Ephrata and into a shed, where he found an old grain truck with the keys nearby. He started the truck and drove about 20 miles to Moses Lake with two law enforcement officers in hot pursuit.
"It was cruising right down the road at 60 to 65 miles an hour with lights and sirens behind it, and not stopping," said Sgt. Ken Jones.
As Smith reached Moses Lake in the stolen truck, he pulled a wild move.
"He left the roadway at full speed," Jones said. "He turned that big old truck into a dune buggy. He made several jumps because of the berms out there on the hill. My estimate is that he was 3 or 3 1/2 feet in the air at times. It was just like Dukes of Hazzard, all four tires in the air. It was crazy."
Jones said he saw the truck, headed directly for a giant hill leading down to the water, duck out of sight.
When the deputies reached the top of the hill, they saw the truck parked nearby and Smith about to jump into the water, handcuffs, prison jumpsuit and all.
"He more collapsed into the water and started to swim," Jones says. "I started yelling, 'It's too far, it's too cold. Come back to the shore!' He wasn't going anywhere. He looked back a few times, and continued his attempt at the doggie paddle."
It became quickly apparent that Smith wasn't going to get very far. About 15 yards offshore, he started to tread water and began to bob up and down, struggling to keep his head above the surface.
"He started yelling, 'Help, I'm drowning!' " said Jones.
Jones and the other deputy looked at each other.
"We both undressed and jumped in," Jones said.
As they swam to rescue him, the deputies notice Smith was tiring, taking longer to come up for air. Eventually, Jones grabbed him and pulled him to shore.
"When we got back to shore, he looked me right in the face and said, 'You just saved my life. Thank you,' ''' said Jones.
Smith was taken to the hospital to be checked out. The deputies weren't injured; just cold and dripping wet.
"You can't make this stuff up. It's a made-for-TV movie," said Grant County Undersheriff John Turley.
Smith's joyride in the grain truck has earned him several new felony charges.
Darrell Smith, 39, was arrested on Saturday for investigation of kidnapping and robbery. He was scheduled to appear before a judge in Ephrata on Monday morning, but before the hearing, Smith said he felt sick and needed to go back to jail.
While headed back to jail under the supervision of a correctional deputy, Smith managed to pull away and run off.
Smith ran through downtown Ephrata and into a shed, where he found an old grain truck with the keys nearby. He started the truck and drove about 20 miles to Moses Lake with two law enforcement officers in hot pursuit.
"It was cruising right down the road at 60 to 65 miles an hour with lights and sirens behind it, and not stopping," said Sgt. Ken Jones.
As Smith reached Moses Lake in the stolen truck, he pulled a wild move.
"He left the roadway at full speed," Jones said. "He turned that big old truck into a dune buggy. He made several jumps because of the berms out there on the hill. My estimate is that he was 3 or 3 1/2 feet in the air at times. It was just like Dukes of Hazzard, all four tires in the air. It was crazy."
Jones said he saw the truck, headed directly for a giant hill leading down to the water, duck out of sight.
When the deputies reached the top of the hill, they saw the truck parked nearby and Smith about to jump into the water, handcuffs, prison jumpsuit and all.
"He more collapsed into the water and started to swim," Jones says. "I started yelling, 'It's too far, it's too cold. Come back to the shore!' He wasn't going anywhere. He looked back a few times, and continued his attempt at the doggie paddle."
It became quickly apparent that Smith wasn't going to get very far. About 15 yards offshore, he started to tread water and began to bob up and down, struggling to keep his head above the surface.
"He started yelling, 'Help, I'm drowning!' " said Jones.
Jones and the other deputy looked at each other.
"We both undressed and jumped in," Jones said.
As they swam to rescue him, the deputies notice Smith was tiring, taking longer to come up for air. Eventually, Jones grabbed him and pulled him to shore.
"When we got back to shore, he looked me right in the face and said, 'You just saved my life. Thank you,' ''' said Jones.
Smith was taken to the hospital to be checked out. The deputies weren't injured; just cold and dripping wet.
"You can't make this stuff up. It's a made-for-TV movie," said Grant County Undersheriff John Turley.
Smith's joyride in the grain truck has earned him several new felony charges.