This is preliminary information and subject to change. This incident is still being investigated.
On May 11th, at approximately 6:30 pm, a North Precinct officer recovered a stolen Honda Accord from the Greenlake neighborhood. The registered owner was contacted and stated that they would pick it up from its location, but that they were coming from Tacoma. The officer completed his paperwork and then drove away. A few minutes later, the officer observed the just recovered stolen car being driven down the street. The recovered stolen car had just been stolen again. The officer broadcast this information and then attempted to pull over the stolen car. That is when the suspect vehicle took off.
The Honda eventually made its way to the Greenwood neighborhood, where officers were still behind it, attempting to pull it over. At some point during the pursuit, both suspect and officers were stopped in traffic, and the suspect intentionally rammed a police car in an attempt to get away. The suspect vehicle struck a pedestrian at North 73rd and Greenwood Avenue North. The male sustained a minor leg injury and was treated at the scene by Seattle Fire and then transported to a local hospital to be checked out.
The suspect refused to stop for pursuing officers and continued in a generally northbound direction. Eventually, the suspect vehicle collided with another vehicle in the intersection at North 87th Street and Greenwood Avenue North. The suspect again intentionally struck a patrol vehicle in an attempt to get away, and at one point drove directly at officers who were on foot in an alley attempting to stop the suspect. The officers and a female pedestrian all had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the suspect car. The officers were not injured and the female sustained a minor knee injury. Officers discontinued the pursuit at that point, but there were enough officers in the area to monitor the suspect’s direction of travel.
The Honda eventually drove over to 8th Avenue NE and NE 67th Street, where the suspect jumped out of the car and began running on foot. Officers gave a short foot chase and were able to take the suspect into custody. The suspect, a male in his twenties, was then transported to Harborview Medical Center because it appeared that he was under the influence of drugs. Once he is evaluated and cleared by hosptial staff, he will be booked into the King County Jail for a number of charges.
Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) and other units responded to the various locations to process the scenes and interview witnesses.