Suspect arrested after crashes into car, bus, house

A 28-year-old Spokane man first told the arresting police officer Tuesday night that his car was stolen and that another man had crashed into a car, into a bus and eventually a house at 728 E. Wellesley Ave.

The driver – whose blood alcohol content tested more than twice the legal limit – then told the same officer that he was in the back seat at the time of the crashes.

Problem was a police officer saw 28-year-old Mark Woodrow Merrifield driving the car and his female passenger also identified him as the driver, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

The officer first saw Merrifield collide with a car at the intersection of Nevada Street and Wellesley about 9:20 p.m., Cottam reported. Merrifield didn’t stop and turned west onto Wellesley.

The officer followed Merrifield and saw him lose control of his damaged car, cross Wellesley and hit an eastbound Spokane Transit Authority bus. Merrifield’s car then hit the sidewalk, hit a fence and then a house at 728 E. Wellesley, Cottam said.

A man and woman in the car ran from the collision but both were quickly apprehended, Cottam said. Merrifield first gave a false name, but he later identified himself.

He was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a collision and one count each of DUI, hit and run, driving on the wrong side of the roadway and having no insurance, Cottam said.