Road rage gun incident on I-82 south of Tri-Cities leads to chase in WA and OR
A 29-year-old Tri-Cities man allegedly threatened another driver with a gun near the Tri-Cities before leading police on an hour-long pursuit in two states.
Matthew T. Still was heading toward Oregon on Interstate 82 when he pointed the gun at another driver near Coffin Road about 4:20 p.m. Sunday, Trooper Chris Thorson told the Tri-City Herald. Then he pointed the gun into the air and fired a shot.
911 callers reported the gunshot, and troopers caught up with the silver car and tried to stop it. But Still sped away with three passengers, said investigators.
Troopers tried to stop the car, but he crossed into Oregon. But when Oregon State Police signaled for him to stop, Still fled again and returned to Washington, said Thorson.
Washington State troopers were joined by a Benton County sheriff’s deputy on I-82 as they followed the car into Benton County. He was able to avoided the spike strips that officers laid out on the road to flatten his tires.
Since Still was posing a danger to the public, a Benton County deputy used a maneuver that caused Still to lose control near Haney and Pidcock roads, according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post.
He was arrested at 5:20 p.m., about an hour after the initial gunshot, and was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of attempting to elude police, drive-by shooting and aiming and discharging a firearm.
Before the arrest, he was wanted on a $15,000 warrant for hit-and-run and possession of a stolen car for allegedly crashing a stolen Chevy Cruze into the front yard of a Rainier Street home in November.
Two of his passengers on Sunday, Carl E. Gardner, 47, and Emily A. Sanchez, 30, were arrested on outstanding warrants from Franklin County. A third passenger was released.
