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Chase on 520 bridge ends in crash

12:40 PM PDT on Thursday, July 31, 2008

By ROBERTA ROMERO / KING 5 News and Associated Press

Video: Raw: Ground footage of high speed crash on 520 bridge
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MEDINA, Wash. - A high-speed State Patrol chase that started in Shoreline ended when a stolen SUV rear-ended two cars on Highway 520 in Medina just east of the floating bridge, injuring three people.

That chase resulted in the driver, a 24-year-old man, arrested and the eastbound lanes of the 520 floating bridge closed for three hours early Thursday.

The chase began around 1 a.m. Thursday when a trooper noticed a black Lincoln Navigator driving the wrong way on an I-5 ramp at Shoreline. After calling in the plates, the trooper discovered the car was stolen and gave chase.

But instead of pulling over, the driver tried to get away. Travelling up to speeds of 100 miles per hour, the SUV led police officers onto Highway 520, flying by other cars on the bridge.

"As I looked this black SUV was flying by me on the left hand side like 80 miles an hour, if not faster - fast enough for me to say, 'Oh man. He must be in a hurry,'" said one driver, who witnessed the chase.

Troopers were right behind the stolen car.

"It was pretty scary. All of a sudden I was right in the middle of it and cops were driving by me and I was just trying to go home," the driver added.

Before troopers could stop the vehicle, the suspect slammed into two other cars. Trooper Cliff Pratt says the SUV was going so fast it rear-ended a second car after hitting the first one "like pinball."

"The navigator was traveling at such a high rate of speed after it hit the Saab, it then hit the Outback after pushing it out of the way," said Pratt.

KING

A driver from one of the cars struck during the high speed chase on the 520 bridge emerges from his vehicle. He suffered minor injuries.

Troopers laid out a spike strip on 520, which stopped the speeding SUV.

"I looked up to see glass was flying and his car was skidding, but I was just trying to get out of the way so I wouldn't be caught up in the accident," the driver said.

The damage to the cars was so extensive, aid workers had to cut them open to get some injured riders out. Of the four people inside the two cars, three people were taken to hospital. The two drivers were not injured. A male passenger had extensive facial injuries and a female passenger had serious hip injuries.

Meanwhile, troopers discovered stolen snowboards and other items in the stolen SUV.

Police say the 24-year-old suspect has a criminal history. He is being held for investigation of possessing/operating a stolen vehicle, reckless driving, attempting to elude a police vehicle, vehicular assault, driving under the influence, and several felony and misdemeanor warrants for his arrest including residential burglary, assault, and stolen vehicles.

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