Suspected thief leads police on destructive chase

A suspected thief is in jail after leading police on a wild, destructive chase on Sunday.

The incident began when deputies responded to Highline High School where witnesses reported someone had been breaking into cars.

A deputy located the suspect and tried to block in his vehicle, but that didn’t hold him in.

“The person in the car backed up and rammed the deputy’s car,” says King County Sheriff Steve Strachan. “He pushed the car back far enough that he could flee in his vehicle.”

The deputy did not pursue the suspect, but other officers were able to locate the vehicle.

Police tracked the suspect to Tukwila.

After losing a tire on a curb, Strachan says the driver crashed into two other vehicles on Southcenter Parkway.

“That was certainly a pretty significant crash that he caused, but thankfully nobody was seriously hurt,” says Strachan. “Everybody had their seat belts on and the air bags worked.”

The suspect then fled to a nearby house where he told the resident that he’d had previous DUIs and couldn’t get caught again.

Deputies located the suspect at the home and took him into custody.

Strachan says the suspect has two previous convictions for DUI, as well as convictions for auto theft and possession of stolen property.