A Renton man is accused of leading a deputy on a short but fast chase at Deception Pass Bridge in February.

Prosecutors charged the suspect, 23-year-old Bradley J. Aburto, in Island County Superior Court Dec. 12 with attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. Under the definition of the charge, he allegedly “willfully failed and refused to immediately stop and drove the vehicle in a reckless manner while attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle that was equipped with lights and sirens.”

If convicted of the charge, Aburto could face from zero to 60 days in jail under the standard sentencing range. Court records indicate he has no criminal history.

A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a report that he was driving south across Deception Pass Bridge at 3:11 a.m. on Feb. 10 when he was clocked an oncoming gray Audi traveling at 55 mph in the 25 mph zone. He flashed his lights and the vehicle slowed down, then pulled into a parking lot.

The deputy did a U-turn to check on the vehicle, but then he saw a green 1994 Chevrolet Suburban headed south across the bridge at about 60 mph, the report states. The deputy then turned around to catch up to the vehicle, but the driver turned off all the lights on the vehicle to conceal it in the dark, the deputy wrote. He turned on his lights and sirens and pursued the vehicle, which pulled over at the intersection of Highway 20 and Cornet Bay Road.

The deputy noted that he could see the driver watching him as he started to exit his vehicle. As he opened his door, the driver took off, did a U-turn and headed north to the bridge. The deputy followed the car, with lights and sirens activated, for less than half a mile while the Suburban strayed into the oncoming lane at a high rate of speed, the report states. The deputy terminated the chase for safety reasons, noting that the roads were slick because of freezing temperatures.

The deputy tracked down the registered owner of the Suburban, who said that his son had traded it months before. The son said he traded the vehicle to Aburto; the deputy wrote that he recognized him as the driver from his driver’s license.

On Feb. 22, Oak Harbor police conducted a traffic stop on the Suburban because it had no plates. Aburto was driving the vehicle, the report states.