Driver Flees Police, Hits Four Cars

A Spokane driver who tried to escape police Friday hit three vehicles, rammed her car into another at a red light and exceeded 70 mph before getting caught.

Police had to physically remove Joyce A. Rickel, 40, from her car at 4:38 p.m. after a 20-minute chase through rush-hour traffic, said police Sgt. Joe Peterson said.

Police chased her for about 20 minutes from the area of Joe Albi Stadium to Boone and Washington after an officer spotted her driving erratically.

The woman was drunk, had an open alcoholic container in the car and was driving with a license suspended because she is a habitual offender, Peterson said.

During the chase, she drove through parking lots and ran several stop signs and red lights before being stopped.

She was booked into the Spokane County Jail on a charge of attempting to elude pursuing police, a jail official said. Rickel was being held without bond late Friday.