Man crashes stolen pickup into North Whidbey house, flees on foot

A resident speaks to a state trooper after a driver crashed a stolen pickup into a North Whidbey house. - John Fisken
John Fisken
A resident speaks to a state trooper after a driver crashed a stolen pickup into a North Whidbey house.

By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
November 1, 2012 · Updated 12:00 PM 

State troopers and deputies with the Island County Sheriff's Office are currently searching the West Beach area of North Whidbey for a man who crashed a stolen pickup into a house during a high-speed chase.

The chase began just before 9 a.m. when a trooper saw the 1994 GMC pickup traveling 53 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone in the area of Crosby Avenue and Golf Course Road. The driver of the truck refused to pull over and the trooper gave chase, according to Trooper Keith Leary with the Washington State Patrol.

Leary said speeds reached up to 100 mph, but there was no traffic on the roads so the trooper wasn't called off the pursuit.

After the pickup turned onto West Beach Road, the driver started throwing items, like CDs, out of the truck for an unknown reason.

The driver lost control at the intersection of West Beach and Hastie Lake roads and plowed through a yard before hitting a brick house.

Nobody was injured. The driver fled from the scene on foot. He was described as a white man in his 30s.

The pickup had been stolen in Oak Harbor, according to Leary.

 

Contact Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360.675.6611 ext. 5056.

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