3 Sultan teens arrested after car chase, collision

SULTAN — Three Sultan teens were arrested late Saturday night after they allegedly led police on a high-speed chase through the streets of town and collided with a squad car driven by the chief of police.

Sultan Chief Fred Walser was chaperoning at a teen dance at the middle school with another officer when they heard radio reports about the pursuit. The three teens — two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl — where in a Toyota Camry reported stolen from Shoreline, he said.

Police first tried to pull the car over for traffic violations, but the 17-year-old driver sped away when an officer got out to talk with the teen. Seven other police vehicles from Sultan and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office joined in the chase, with some officers blocking off potential escape routes.

Walser joined in the pursuit when it came by the middle school. The stolen Toyota hit speeds up to 70 mph during the chase, and the driver collided with Walser’s Ford Explorer when the teen tried to pass the chief on the right.

"It cut across in front of my car and hit me," Walser said, adding that the driver then ran a stop sign as he attempted to escape down a side street.

But police were waiting ahead with a tire-tearing spike strip at the intersection of 8th and Alder streets. The strip punctured all four tires on the stolen car, but the driver kept going, making it about a quarter mile to the parking lot of the Dutch Cup Restaurant on Main Street.

The teens bailed, and officers continued the chase on foot.

"They didn’t make it very far. They were surprised that my officers could run that fast," Walser said, adding that one of the officers who nabbed the fleeing youths is a basketball referee in his off-hours.

The driver allegedly told police he knew he was driving a stolen car, and said he had tried to run over officers but that was "just part of their job and what they get paid for."

The three youths were booked into Denney Juvenile Justice Center in Everett. Sultan police will ask the prosecutor to review the case for possible charges in adult court.

The chase lasted about 30 minutes and no one was hurt. A Snohomish County patrol car was also slightly damaged in the pursuit.

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