Fleeing Valley driver jailed after causing crash

A Spokane Valley man was booked into jail early today after leading police on a high-speed chase that ended when he collided with another driver. The crash occurred around 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Sullivan Road in Spokane Valley. The fleeing driver, Bradley Bowerman, 45, received a couple of large cuts to his head and was taken into custody without further incident, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Det. David Thornburg. Bowerman, who police said was fleeing at speeds of 70 to 80 mph, raced his 2001 Ford Taurus through a red light at the intersection and was T-boned by a 2001 Buick Regal driven by Richard Duval, 53, of Veradale. “Both vehicles violently spun counterclockwise post-collision and ended up on the southeast corner of the intersection,” Thornburg stated in a news release this morning. “After the crash, the Taurus still had quite a bit of momentum left over that it severely damaged the large concrete and steel Numerica Credit Union sign located on that particular corner.” Duval suffered minor injuries, Thornburg said. Spokane Valley Police had attempted to stop the Taurus around 11:22 p.m. The vehicle was being driven “erratically and at a high rate of speed in the area of Sprague and Bowdish,” Thornburg said. The driver failed to yield or stop to Officer Justin Elliott’s emergency lights and siren, he said. The Taurus continued westbound on Sprague Avenue, turned north onto Thierman Road and then east on Broadway. The driver continued to elude police, again reaching speeds up to 80 mph, and blew through several intersections against red traffic signals as it continued eastbound on Broadway, according to the police account. Bowerman was treated at a local hospital and released, then booked into the Spokane County Jail on counts of eluding police, possession of a controlled substance and driving on a suspended license, according to the jail’s roster.