Woman arrested after I-5 chase and standoff dies in Lewis County Jail
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- Woman arrested after I-5 chase and standoff died in Lewis County Jail April 6.
- Coroner cited massive bilateral pulmonary embolism secondary to deep leg vein thrombosis.
- State Patrol and local agencies closed I-5; spike strips and WSP SWAT were used.
A woman arrested after a standoff on Interstate 5 died on April 6 in the Lewis County Jail, according to the coroner and law enforcement.
The Lewis County Coroner’s Office identified the woman as 51-year-old Heidi R. Presson of Hoodsport. She died from a “massive bilateral pulmonary embolism, secondary to deep leg vein thrombosis,” the office said in a news release Wednesday on Facebook. The office hasn’t released what led to that, pending toxicology results.
Medical staff found her unresponsive in a cell, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release posted on Facebook. “Lifesaving measures were performed while waiting for emergency medical services to arrive; however, the inmate was not able to be revived,” the post said. “An outside agency was requested and responded to the scene to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the inmate.”
A State Patrol memo on April 3 identified Presson as the driver troopers arrested after a standoff on Interstate 5.
Troopers closed Interstate 5 in both directions for almost five hours the night of April 2 in Lewis County, The Olympian reported. Mason County Sheriff’s Office deputies tried to do a traffic stop, and Presson allegedly fled into Thurston County and led law enforcement on a chase. Thurston County sheriff’s deputies started the pursuit, and the State Patrol took over when the chase went into Lewis County, The Olympian reported.
Presson hit spike strips around milepost 71 and ultimately a Washington State Department of Transportation sign, which stopped the vehicle, the State Patrol memo said.
Presson allegedly refused to come out, and the WSP Special Weapons and Tactics Team arrived. Crews closed I-5 from about 6:30 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. Trooper Dakota Russell told The Olympian at the time that troopers did that out of caution, and that they didn’t know whether she had a weapon.
Crews took her to a local hospital, and law enforcement booked her into the Lewis County Jail, the State Patrol memo said.
Olympian archives contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Woman arrested after I-5 chase and standoff dies in Lewis County Jail."
