Police Cars Rammed During Rural Chase

A Wellpinit man rammed several police cars as he led authorities on an hourlong chase Sunday in Stevens County, drinking and tossing beer cans out his window as he drove, the Washington State Patrol said.

After John M. Harris, 26, was forced to a stop, he was arrested on charges of drunken driving, felony eluding police and driving with a suspended license, the state patrol said.

Harris initially was stopped by a state trooper at 1:36 a.m. on state Highway 292 at Loon Lake.

The pursuit began after he got back into his car.

Harris drove west on Highway 292, south on state Highway 231, then west on Cemetery Road.

A Stevens County sheriff’s deputy and Spokane Tribal Police joined the chase on secondary roads in the Wellpinit area, the state patrol said.

The driver reached speeds up to 90 mph, according to the state patrol. He rammed his 1990 Nissan into a state patrol car twice, a tribal police car three times and a Stevens County sheriff’s car once, authorities said.

, DataTimes