By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A traffic stop in Centralia shortly after the bars closed last night led to a police pursuit that ended in Oregon.
Centralia police report an officer attempted to pull over a suspected drunk driver at North Pearl and First streets about 2:20 a.m. but the vehicle sped away.
Troopers took over at Interstate 5 and the suspect led law enforcement officers on a high speed chase that came to a stop in Portland, only after the vehicle hit spike strips, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Henry Herrera-Montealegre, 29, from Centralia, faces potential charges of eluding, first-degree driving with a suspended license and driving without a required interlock device, according to police.
Booking information for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office shows a 29-year-old Henry Herreramontealegre booked at 3:33 a.m. today for attempting to elude by vehicle and released on his own recognizance.
The Washington State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies have officers working overtime for the New Year’s weekend, with an emphasis on taking impaired drivers off the roads.
KATU news got photos. See them here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
PR? Ok what’s that gonna say for all the others doing the same but not let out without maybe bail? Laws have gone to shit. DWLS 1 Alone generally don’t get PR’d. The guy is habitual. No justice
Well I should have read the article thoroughly before posting – I see they used spike strips.
I don’t think the cops had them back in the day but the Michigan State police did have a damn fast Plymouth interceptor and weren’t afraid to pursue you at speeds of up to 130mph or more. Not like the little wussy front wheel drive cars they have now.
They did throw a net over me once. I drove past them at about 125mph and they gave pursuit. If I had know they were chasing me I wouldn’t have slowed down but they would have probably overtaken me anyway. Needless to say they rightly threw me in jail and I lost my driver’s license.’
I’ve been a boringly law abiding citizen for at least the last 30 years and my last ticket was in the 1980’s so I guess that I am reformed.
Lesson #1 if you think you might have to run from the cops: Top off your gas tank before you go out drinking.
My guess is this guy ran out of gas but I suppose they could have spike stripped him.
An auto that might get 20 mpg might get about 5 mpg or less when driving 100 mph or more.
I know this from prior experience. I always topped my 16 gallon tank on my Chevy Corvette before I went out for the night when I was an idiot in my late 20’s.
Wow, too bad he didn’t get away. Centralia to Portland that’s pretty impressive. Wonder what his top speed was?
The pursuit lasted longer than his time in the Oregon jail. At least no one got hurt by this dope.
released by multnomah county on his own recognizance. that just means that wa state will pay for his confinement while they go thru the extradition process. while he sits there someone pays the daily fee. after we extradite him and he goes thru our legal system oregon will issue a warrant and get him back for their charges.
Sounds about right.
Eluding across state lines while DUI, DWLS 1*, Ignition interlock violation & only charged with eluding & released on personal recognizance.
I think we all need Spanish last names. SMH!
Instead of taking a suspected drunk off the road, they pushed a high-speed persuit all the way to Portland? Sounds like that created a higher risk to the public as opposed to letting him go.
Released on his own recognance? He lead the police on a 100 mile pursuit. So, I’m sure he isn’t going to run again. Of course his word is honorable. Wow.