ORCHARDS, Wash. — A suspect in a stolen vehicle struck a pedestrian and led Clark County Sheriff's Office deputies on a high-speed chase late Saturday night, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
A deputy spotted what appeared to be a stolen vehicle parked at a gas pump at an Arco station on Fourth Plain Boulevard in east Vancouver at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday.
The car was occupied by a single male suspect, and when the deputy attempted to contact him, the suspect drove away with the gas pump handle still inserted and dragging the severed hose, striking a nearby bystander in the process.
The deputy followed but broke off the pursuit for safety reasons when the vehicle exceeded 110 miles per hour on Northeast 76th Street in the Orchards neighborhood to the northeast of Vancouver, according to the press release.
Several other deputies located and pursued the vehicle after it turned around several times and continued to drive haphazardly through Orchards, police said. The suspect eventually came to a dead-end and fled on foot into the Curtin Creek Natural Area.
Deputies searched the area with assistance from a Vancouver police K-9 unit and apprehended the suspect without further incident, police said.
The suspect was identified as 18-year-old Weston Walker of Woodland, and he was hospitalized after claiming to have ingested controlled substances, police said. His vehicle was confirmed to have been stolen out of Medford.
Deputies returned to the gas station but were unable to locate the bystander who had been hit by the vehicle, police said.
