A carjacking that involved a machete near the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine led to a nearly 40-mile pursuit on southbound I-5 ending near the Bow Hill rest area on December 12.
Washington State Patrol (WSP) was alerted around 1:30 p.m. of an early 2000s Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with B.C. plates that was carjacked on the B.C. side of the Blaine border crossing, said WSP trooper Brad Tulloch.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson Jason Givens wrote in an email to The Northern Light that the vehicle entered the Peace Arch border crossing at a high rate of speed and failed to yield to CBP officers. The vehicle continued through the border crossing and hit another vehicle, Givens wrote. The driver then allegedly entered the secondary inspection lot, made a U-turn, exited the secondary lot and drove across a grass median before reaching southbound I-5.
A CBP officer was nearly struck at the crossing and CBP began pursuing the driver on southbound I-5, Tulloch said.
The driver reached speeds up to 103 miles per hour during the pursuit, Tulloch said. WSP troopers took over the pursuit after observing the driver not yielding to CBP vehicles and driving recklessly as it entered Bellingham. A CBP helicopter was also deployed.
Law enforcement attempted to stop the truck using stop sticks before it successfully stopped the vehicle using a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver near the Bow Hill rest area in Bow. State troopers, along with Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office and CBP, arrested the driver at 2:07 p.m., Tulloch said. WSP found a machete and the truck was identified as stolen from B.C.
The driver was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham as a precaution before being booked into Whatcom County Jail, Tulloch said. No one was injured in the carjacking or pursuit.
WSP plans to charge the driver with second degree assault, possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude police and reckless driving, Tulloch said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is expected to lay additional charges, though the agency could not immediately be reached.
The driver’s name was not immediately available.
This story will be updated as more information is available.
