This day in history: The suspect in a high-speed chase through Spokane was far below legal driving age

From 1976: A 38-block high-speed chase through the middle of Spokane was wild enough, but here’s what made it especially shocking: The fleeing car was being driven by a 10-year-old.

His passenger was 11.

It all began when the boys stole a car in Colville at 2 a.m. The boys drove it – not particularly well – to Spokane. They said they ran the car off the road four times. Once, “citizens stopped and helped them get the stolen car back on the road.”

When they got to Spokane, police saw a car “make an illegal left-hand turn across three lanes of traffic.” Police attempted to stop the car, but the boys “tried to force us off the road.”

Finally, the boys blasted through a fence and rammed into a house on East Illinois Avenue. The boys jumped out and ran.

When officers chased down the boys and collared them, the pistol in the hand of one officer accidentally discharged. Fortunately, the bullet went straight into the ground.

The boys were uninjured and were turned over to Juvenile Court authorities.

From 1926: Edward Jarrish, deputy game warden, was found shot to death in the snow near Camden, Wash. between Elk and Newport.

Tracks in the snow indicated that he had been chased by two unknown men. He had been shot through the neck by a high-powered rifle.

According to his wife, Jarrish had heard five or six rifle shots in the hills south of his residence and went out with his rifle to investigate. When he didn’t return, neighbors went out, picked up his trail and found him lying face down. His rifle had not been discharged.

Jarrish had previously told friends that “his life had been threatened because of arrests he had made for violation of game laws.”

The sheriff’s investigation was continuing.