Officers arrested a suspected DUI driver early Thursday morning after he attempted to elude police and injured another driver in a collision Downtown.
At about 12:30 a.m., an officer on patrol Downtown spotted a BMW sedan several blocks ahead of him traveling the wrong way on a one-way street. The BMW turned and the officer drove to catch up to it.
The officer saw the BMW driver disobey a solid red light after treating it like a four-way stop, and saw him swerving in and out of his lane. The driver then turned onto 3rd Avenue and was forced to stop behind a bus. When the driver attempted to reverse to get around the bus, he nearly backed into the police car behind him and the officer had to use his air horn to prevent a collision.
Believing the driver to be impaired, the officer activated his lights and sirens and initiated a traffic stop when the BMW driver turned eastbound onto Pike Street from 3rd Avenue. The driver appeared to be pulling over, but then sped away eastbound on Pike Street and the officer did not pursue.
At 5th Avenue and Pike Street, the BMW driver sped through a red light and crashed into a Hyundai going southbound.
The officer quickly drove the two blocks to the scene and stopped the suspect as he attempted to flee on foot.
The sole passenger in the suspect’s vehicle immediately fell to the ground upon exiting the car, but he remained responsive. Seattle Fire Department medics evaluated him at the scene and the man declined any additional medical treatment.
The driver of the Hyundai had apparently non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to Harborview Medical Center via private ambulance.
Police arrested the 50-year-old suspect and booked him into King County Jail for eluding and DUI after he was evaluated at HMC.
