Truck driver pleads guilty to attacks

Associated Press

KENT — An Ellensburg truck driver has pleaded guilty in attacks on two women, including one he tricked into pulling off Interstate 90 by flashing his lights and indicating something might be wrong with her vehicle.

Roger William Oliver, 38, a married father of three, faces up to 17 months in prison for second-degree assault, attempted kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. He will be sentenced Nov. 16 at the Regional Justice Center here.

The first two charges stem from an attempt to abduct a 52-year-old motorist near Snoqualmie Pass on July 2. Prosecutors say Oliver twice got her to pull off the road. The second time, he grabbed her from behind as she looked through the trunk of her car and tried to drag her into his truck.

She broke free after she was punched and had her head slammed into side of the truck, and got into the car of a motorist who stopped. Her assailant fled, leading Washington State Patrol troopers on an 85 mph chase before agreeing to pull over in Ellensburg.

The third charge concerns an assault on a woman March 31. That incident occurred in Ellensburg, but the cases were combined.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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