Kia Sephia at milepost 39 on Interstate 5 at Kelso. / Courtesy photo by David Jackson
Updated at 10:25 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A pursuit by numerous police agencies through Lewis County this afternoon ended with two males – wanted in connection with an Olympia homicide – taken into custody near Kelso.
Winlock Police Department Officer Steve Miller was on the Park Road overpass at Interstate 5 when he spotted the suspect vehicle eastbound on Park Road, according to Winlock Police Chief Terry Williams. It was about 2:45 p.m.
Olympia police detectives had asked for assistance in locating the subjects in the Winlock area, Williams said.
A pursuit ensued through various county roads at speeds at times in excess of 95 mph, maybe into triple-digits, according to Williams.
Miller was joined in the chase by Toledo police and deputies from both Lewis and Cowlitz counties, the chief said.
Williams said the occupants of the stolen car were throwing full pop cans and several lit firework-like items at their pursuers. He said they were an unknown type of incendiary device, possibly mortars.
The chase wound onto Jackson Highway and through Toledo and eventually back to Interstate 5 at exit 57 where Officer Miller conducted a so-called PIT maneuver, but the car recovered and continued on, according to Williams.
The car continued south on Interstate 5 where troopers and police from Castle Rock and Kelso joined in until the car lost control and wrecked, William’s said.
Doty resident Sharyl King Quinn said she was passing through Castle Rock headed home when she saw a dozen police vehicles “flying” southbound with lights and sirens.
The chief said it was either because of spike strips set out to stop them or attempting to avoid the strips that caused the crash.
The wanted subjects were taken into custody, Williams said.
The Olympian newspaper reported detectives were after a person interest in Friday’s homicide at an apartment on Lilly Road in Olympia.
Olympian news reporter Lisa Pemberton wrote earlier this evening the chase initially began near Centralia and ended with the crash that shut down Interstate 5 near near the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso this afternoon.
The Longview Daily News reported the two occupants were 21-year-olds and that nobody was injured.
Update: from The Olympian on Monday March 12, 2012 at 5:27 p.m.: News reporter Jeremy Pawloski writes the two 20-year-olds were in Thurston County Superior Court today in connection with the stabbing death of a 29-year-old Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Thank you, Sharyn, for the most detailed report thus far.
Thank goodness they were able to stop them without anyone else being injured. Now, let the law deal with them!