Police nab suspect after chase in woods

A north Spokane man was hospitalized today after he led police on an early morning chase in a wooded area near St. George’s School in north Spokane. Two Spokane police officers responding to a domestic violence call about 2:45 a.m. pursued Casey Ridge as he fled in a Ford Expedition on North 5 Mile Road, said police spokesman Officer Glenn Bartlett. Ridge, approximately 40 years old, crashed into a tree and tried to flee on foot but was apprehended by the officers, Bartlett said. In the scuffle, the three rolled down a 30-foot slope, he said. Ridge, injured in the crash, lost consciousness, and the officers sought medical assistance, Bartlett said. In order to alert others to their location, one officer fired a shot from his pistol, he said. Ridge remains under guard at a local hospital. Alcohol may have been a factor in the incident, Bartlett said. The officers sustained minor injuries.