Officers recovered a handgun and arrested an 18-year-old man wanted in Colorado after he fled from police and crashed his car near the Seattle Center late Sunday.
Around 10pm, officers on patrol near 4th Avenue and Cedar Street spotted a vehicle which matched the description of a stolen car.
The car, a Chevrolet Malibu, did not have a visible license plate and was being driven erratically. As officers followed the car, the Malibu’s driver almost struck another vehicle and nearly turned the wrong way down a one-way street.
When officers attempted to pull the driver over, he sped away, only to later crash into a crosswalk signal at 5th Avenue and Broad Street. The driver fled on foot, but police found and arrested him in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant.
Police impounded the crashed vehicle and later found a handgun, a bottle of liquor and a ski mask. The car turned out not to be the stolen vehicle police had been looking for, but officers booked the 18-year-old man into the King County Jail for attempting to elude police, unlawful possession of a firearm and a warrant out of Colorado.
Investigators have referred the case to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.