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Capitol Hill car chase involving suspected DWI driver ends with Cal Anderson crash — UPDATE

(Image: Gregory Fenno with permission to CHS)

A car chase involving multiple police vehicles, the Sheriff’s Guardian One helicopter, and a suspected DWI driver in a pick-up truck raced around Capitol Hill for nearly 30 minutes just after midnight Wednesday morning before coming to a crash ending and arrest in Cal Anderson Park.

According to police radio updates, the chase began around midnight near Westlake where police began pursuing the suspected under the influence driver in a 2015 Nissan Titan. With the driver refusing to yield, the truck headed east on Denny and onto Capitol Hill where a circular chase played out with police dropping spike strips at main intersections and the Guardian One helicopter doing what it could to follow the action and help herd the driver toward police.

(Image: Gregory Fenno with permission to CHS)

Traveling on Boren, Pike, and then on Broadway, and then again westbound on Pike from Broadway, southbound on Harvard, and then east on Union, the large pickup finally sustained tire damage on its passenger side when police were able to place a spike strip in its path near Broadway and Union.

Despite blown out tires, the driver continued on a path around Broadway before eventually driving in Cal Anderson where he struck a concrete barrier, came to a crashing halt, exited the vehicle, and got on the ground waiting for police to take him into custody, according to radio dispatches.

There were no reported additional collisions despite some near misses along the way. Seattle Fire was called to the scene to evaluate the driver but we do not have further information on his condition before he was taken into custody.

UPDATE: Police say the 51-year-old man was booked into jail for investigation of attempting to elude officers. A spokesperson for SPD says the chase started when an officer noticed signs of impairment and attempted to stop the vehicle. While he was not booked for DWI, the driver could still face additional charges pending the investigation.

 

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4 Comments
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Matthew
Matthew
4 years ago

They chased him around Belltown and SLU for at least 10 minutes before he headed up the hill. Was crazy to listen to.

Annika Sparkles
Annika Sparkles
4 years ago

So the boom I heard was the car crash.

Matt
Matt
4 years ago

I was going crazy trying to find any information about what was happening last night. I thought it was something way more serious based on the police response and helicopter, but none of the local news sites had any info about it and the SPD twitter didn’t, either. How do you find out about these things in real time?

DS
DS
4 years ago
Reply to  Matt

Listen to the scanner.