KENT, Wash. — The Washington State Patrol arrested two drivers who allegedly fled from troopers on Saturday just after 1 a.m. in Kent.
These incidents happened in the same area where illegal street racing has been going on.
The WSP said the first person was driving a Pontiac G8 and fled after a trooper tried to pull them over going northbound on State Route 167 near 212th in Kent. The WSP aircraft followed the car as it took the exit to 180th. The driver then got caught up in traffic allowing the ground units to contact them. The driver was arrested for eluding and the 17-year-old passenger was arrested for illegally possessing a gun.
The WSP said the second incident happened in nearly the same location, going northbound on State Route 167 approaching Interstate 405. Two Infiniti sedans were seen going fast and fled after a trooper tried to pull them over. The WSP was able to find one of the cars, started following it, and communicated to the ground units where it was headed.
The Infiniti continued northbound on I-405 to westbound I-90, at times turning all lights off and “driving in an extremely reckless manner even though there was NO pursuit,” said the WSP.
The WSP aircraft followed the car to southbound I-5 then onto the West Seattle freeway and into West Seattle where the car was abandoned in an alley. The driver and passenger had fled on foot but ground units were able to find them and put them in custody.
“These two incidents display the use of the Aviation Section of the Washington State Patrol as paramount to holding suspects accountable that choose to flee from law enforcement,” said the WSP. “This creates the safest way possible to reach the goal of safety for all and creates a deterrent for this illegal and unsafe behavior. The communication and coordination between the aircraft, WSP District 2/King County ground units, and local law enforcement partners allows for this accountability and WILL continue.”
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