Suspicious motorist crashes SUV as police close in

A man reportedly attempting to elude police crashed his SUV into two other vehicles, a light pole and a fire hydrant early Sunday morning at Sprague and Washington in Spokane. At 5:44 a.m., Spokane police responded to a report of a suspicious person near Starbucks at Second and Division. A female employee told police that she has been approached by the SUV’s driver, later identified as Patrick F. Valenzuela, 28, who offered her a ride to work. The woman told police that she didn’t know Valenzuela and didn’t accept the ride, but he followed her to work. Valenzuela later circled the business several times, prompting employees to call the police, according to reports. Police officers located the white SUV and attempted to stop Valenzuela to investigate his activities, but he fled instead, according to police reports. Valenzuela was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and attempting to elude a police officer.