Two Spokane Men Arrested After I-90 Chase

Sheriff’s deputies arrested two Spokane men Monday morning after they raced a stolen pickup truck down the wrong side of Interstate 90.

A Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputy ran his patrol car into the fleeing truck in order to stop it from crashing into oncoming traffic, sheriff’s officials said.

Joseph R. Gilbert, 39, and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on charges of grand theft and burglary.

About 4:30 a.m. Monday, a driver used a cellular phone to report a possible drunken driver on U.S. Highway 95.

Dispatchers recognized the description of the truck as matching that of a stolen vehicle from Spokane, according to a sheriff’s report.

Sheriff’s deputies and Coeur d’Alene Police officers tried to stop the truck at Ramsey and Kathleen avenues. But the truck sped west onto Interstate 90.

At the Huetter rest stop, the truck swerved across the median and into the eastbound lanes, heading the wrong direction down the interstate.

Several vehicles had to swerve out of its way, said Lt. Jeff Thomas.

As the fleeing truck neared the hill east of the Highway 41 turnoff, sheriff’s deputies feared that a driver coming from the other side of the hill wouldn’t see the chase and would ram the truck.

When the pickup truck headed back into the median, Deputy Mike O’Brien nudged his patrol car into the back end of the truck, Thomas said.

The maneuver is supposed to send the car into a spin, stopping it.

However, when the deputy’s car hit the truck, the truck spun and then rolled over, Thomas said.

Although both the truck and the patrol car were damaged, no one was injured.

O’Brien knew the suspects were wearing their seat belts before he tried the maneuver, Thomas said.

, DataTimes