GOLD BAR — Detectives have finished their investigation into a high-speed pursuit that ended in a fatal crash on U.S. 2 last year.
The case has been forwarded to Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe, who will be asked to determine if a sheriff’s deputy and a sergeant’s actions that night were justified. The sheriff’s office also plans an internal review.
Both deputies had slowed down and ceased actively pursuing the fleeing driver before he crossed the center line and struck another vehicle, according to public records recently obtained by The Herald. A chain-reaction crash followed, involving both deputies’ squad cars.
The fleeing driver, Eric John Breum, 55, of Skykomish, died in the crash. He had seven prior DUI convictions and had spent time in prison as a repeat DUI offender.
After the Oct. 21, 2013, crash, Breum’s blood-alcohol content was 0.27, more than three times the legal limit, according to the records. A blood test also showed he had recently used marijuana.
The records make clear that deputies did not ram Breum’s car before the crash. Until now, detectives had declined to answer that question, as the case was under investigation.
The pursuit and crash were investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, or SMART, which more commonly is called to investigate officer-involved shootings.
Local police agencies also can ask SMART to investigate incidents in which there might be a conflict of interest, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. In this case, detectives were needed to examine the actions of the deputy and the sergeant leading up to the crash.
Breum was one of at least four people who died in police pursuits in Snohomish County last year. His was the only case handled by SMART, in part because, early on, it was unknown whether officers had rammed his truck — a potential use of force.
The records available now paint a more detailed picture of what happened.
Police first were called about Breum’s erratic driving about 4:45 p.m. Neighbors in the Monroe area told 911 dispatchers they had seen a pickup leave the roadway and roll backward onto grass. When the neighbors approached Breum, he told them he was looking for an engine that was for sale, and that his truck wasn’t working right, detectives wrote.
Neighbors, including an off-duty cop, thought Breum seemed intoxicated and called 911 to report him as a drunken driver.
They told dispatchers that while he was outside the truck, Breum was leaning on the vehicle, apparently to keep from falling. He also was slurring his words.
When Breum opened his pickup door to get back in, a Steel Reserve beer can rolled out on the ground.
Before police arrived, Breum pushed his truck back onto the road and took off. His license plate number was broadcast over the emergency radio system.
Just after 6 p.m., the sheriff’s sergeant spotted the pickup eastbound on U.S. 2 between Sultan and Gold Bar.
The pickup was “weaving and making reckless passes” in a no-passing zone, detectives wrote. The sergeant pulled Breum over in the 200 block of Croft Avenue in Gold Bar and requested another deputy for backup.
Breum smelled like alcohol and again began leaning against his truck for balance, the sergeant told detectives. Breum struggled to retrieve his driver’s license and at first handed over a debit card.
When Breum failed field sobriety tests at the scene, he allegedly told the sergeant that he had poor coordination from medication and that he was bipolar.
The backup deputy arrived at the scene about 6:30 p.m. He and the sergeant were waiting for a Washington State Patrol trooper to assist with the arrest.
At some point, though, Breum climbed back into his truck and fled before they could stop him. The chase ensued, reaching speeds up to 85 mph.
The deputies lost sight of Breum’s truck in the S-curves of the highway, about four miles east of Gold Bar.
A witness saw Breum cross the center line and pass another vehicle on the highway before striking a westbound pickup head-on. That pickup’s driver, an 86-year-old Edmonds man, was injured but survived. Breum’s pickup landed sideways in the eastbound lane.
Within moments, the deputy’s car came around a curve and struck Breum’s pickup, according to the report. The sergeant who was following the deputy was unable to stop before crashing into the deputy’s car. Breum died at the scene.
The sheriff’s office plans an internal investigation into the incident after the prosecutor’s review is complete, Ireton said. The deputy and the sergeant were placed on leave, a standard practice, and returned to work Oct. 30, 2013.
Internal reviews are common for police departments after major incidents, including pursuits. They aim to examine officers’ conduct and whether they followed department policies. Of the four fatal pursuit cases in the county last year, only the Bothell and Lake Stevens police departments have completed internal reviews. In the Bothell case, an officer was given a one-day suspension for policy violations. The Lynnwood review is pending because of a potential lawsuit.
Breum spent nearly 16 months in prison after a 2009 felony DUI conviction in King County, according to court records and the state Department of Corrections. In that case, he was driving drunk and rolled his car along U.S. 2 while headed toward Stevens Pass. Breum also had convictions for hit-and-run, resisting arrest, malicious mischief and driving with a suspended license.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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