The driver of a car that eluded police and crashed into another vehicle June 7 claims that the passenger made him do it, according to court documents.
Brandon D. Roth, 31, of Spanaway, claims that Oak Harbor resident Bryan McCord, 34, threatened to shoot him if he didn’t drive away from police, the police report states. McCord was wanted on arrest warrant.
The police said they didn’t find a gun at the scene of the accident.
Prosecutors may not believe Roth’s story. They charged him in Island County Superior Court June 12 with hit and run, possession with intent to sell methamphetamine and attempting to elude a police vehicle.
Prosecutors charged McCord with meth dealing.
According to the police report, two deputies with the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded to a tip that McCord was at the Liberty Mart park-and-ride lot north of Oak Harbor. Deputy Lane Campbell found McCord in the passenger seat of a Pontiac Sunfire while Roth was driving.
Campbell yelled for the driver to stop, but Roth drove away. The deputy chased after him as Roth drove south on State Highway 20, passing five or six other vehicles. The Pontiac ran the red light at Ault Field Road at more than 70 mph, Campbell wrote.
Roth continued driving at speeds up to 90 mph, passing other vehicles and forcing northbound traffic to swerve. He turned onto Regatta Drive and then Torpedo Road.
Campbell felt that Roth’s driving was so dangerous that he “discontinued” the pursuit, turning off his lights and sirens, he wrote in his report.
Roth didn’t slow, however, and T-boned an SUV at about 70 to 80 mph at the intersection with Crescent Harbor Road. The impact rolled the SUV onto its top and spun it 180 degrees.
McCord and Roth tried to run from the scene, Campbell wrote. McCord was injured and only made it a short ways before stopping. Navy security stopped Roth.
The driver of the SUV sustained injuries that were not life threatening, according to the sheriff’s office.
A deputy found a large amount of suspected methamphetamine and a fentanyl patch on the ground next to the Pontiac, the report states.
