A woman was arrested Wednesday night after a high-speed chase on Interstate 5 north that involved a Washington State Patrol airplane and reached speeds of more than 100 mph through Olympia, according to law enforcement.
Sara Abbott, 22, of Centralia was being held Thursday at the Thurston County Jail on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, attempt to elude a pursuing police vehicle, hit-and-run and heroin possession. A Thurston County Superior Court judge set her bail at $5,000.
According to court papers:
A trooper tried to pull Abbott’s speeding Chevy Cavalier over about 9:15 p.m. near milepost 93. The driver ignored the car’s lights and siren, using all lanes as she sped away.
The trooper ended his pursuit because of heavy traffic and the driver’s excessive speed. However, the pilot of a State Patrol plane overhead spotted the speeding car and updated the trooper on its location.
About 9:30 p.m., the pilot advised the trooper that the driver had exited at Martin Way, then had struck a fence near the Fusion Coffee House and O’Blarney’s pub. The vehicle got back on I-5, this time heading south.
Because it sustained “disabling front end damage” when it hit the fence, the car came to a stop on I-5’s right shoulder. The pilot advised that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Chehalis.
The trooper caught up with the vehicle. A black knife fell from Abbott’s person when she exited the vehicle, which she admitted stealing from a Chehalis gas station. The trooper found a syringe in Abbott’s pocket, as well as a substance that later tested positive for heroin on her knife.
jpawloski@theolympian.com
360-754-5445
theolympian.com/thisjustin
@JeremyPawloski
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