Stolen truck leads chase through Gig Harbor

A high-speed chase that began on the rain-slicked Narrows Bridge ended against a guard rail in Gig Harbor early Friday morning.

After a man driving a stolen 2008 Silverado pickup tried to ram a Tacoma police car, a Gig Harbor officer noticed a similar-looking vehicle driving over the Narrows Bridge. A vehicle chase began, reaching almost 90 miles per hour in heavy rain.

The stolen truck led officers on a wild, circuitous route through numerous streets in Gig Harbor before it was finally brought to a stop against a guardrail near Olympic Boulevard.

Officer Ryan Erwin used a box technique to trap the vehicle between his car, a guardrail, and a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy’s car coming up at the rear.

The driver revved his engine but could not escape. The suspect eventually became compliant, and officers were able to place the man in handcuffs about 3:24 a.m. A female passenger in the vehicle was detained.

The passenger said the man was giving her a ride to Silverdale and after the police chase began, she asked to get out of the vehicle six or seven times but he would not let her out.

Tacoma police said the incident began about 3:10 a.m. Friday when an officer pulled over the pickup in the 4900 block of Tyler Street in Tacoma’s south end. The truck sped away, and the officer discontinued the pursuit due to the suspect’s erratic driving.

Officer Erwin heard the Tacoma broadcast and set up at the bridge. Officer Jason Raphael responded as backup.,

Officer Erwin pursued the stolen truck after he saw it cross the bridge at high speed. The truck pulled into the weigh station west of the bridge and stopped, but sped onto the highway again as Erwin left his squad car to approach.

The driver then led the officers on a chase through city streets, exiting the highway at Olympic Drive and racing through Hollycroft, Soundview, and Judson Drive downtown, then reversing course back up Soundview to re-enter the highway westbound at Olympic.

The truck exited the freeway again at Burnham Drive, went west to Sehmel Drive, southbound on 80th Avenue, then doubled back toward the freeway, entered the traffic circle, got back on Highway 16 eastbound and off again at Olympic.

Police said he was trying to return to the freeway westbound when he lost control and officers were able to box him in.

No officers or passengers were injured during this pursuit.

This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 12:00 AM.