The Washington State Patrol is looking for witnesses to a road rage incident that stretched Saturday from Interstate 5 to Tacoma streets and ended after a high-speed chase into King County.
It started at 2:10 p.m. on northbound I-5 near the Tacoma Dome, when a man called 911 to report another driver had shot at him. The incident moved off the South 56th Street exit and to South 52nd Street, South Cushman Avenue and the parking lot of a deli in Fife.
The involved cars were a gray Ford Escape and a white Nissan Altima.
Trooper Guy Gill said a man in the Escape fired three shots at the other vehicle, narrowly missing the driver. The victim then followed the Escape, against the advice of 911 dispatchers, and tried to confront him outside the deli, where the Escape’s driver again brandished a gun.
Officers from three agencies began chasing the Escape, bringing the pursuit to an end after a trooper spun out the car in Federal Way. The 42-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of felony eluding police, driving under the influence and on multiple counts related to the shooting.
“We’re looking for anybody that may have seen anything,” Gill said.
Troopers are particularly interested in an argument between the two men that occurred at South 52nd Street and Sheridan Avenue in Tacoma. The victim allegedly yelled, “Are you going to shoot me in front of all these people?” and then tried to drive away. That’s when the other man fired three rounds into the back of the victim’s vehicle.
Witnesses are asked to call State Patrol detective Vik Mauro at 253-538-3176 or detective Sgt. Bruce Lantz at 253-538-3178.
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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