Stolen vehicle from Washington bursts into flames after high-speed chase ends in Canada

Puneet Bsanti
·1 min read
2

A high-speed pursuit of a stolen Hyundai Tuscon in Washington ended with the vehicle bursting into flames in Surrey, British Columbia, on Saturday night.

Emil Abdullah Tunsel, 21, from Irvine, California, allegedly stole the vehicle out of Seattle. Washington State Patrol was alerted to the vehicle after someone called 911 to let them know there was a person driving erratically in Skagit County.

When troopers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled and continued north at a high speed close to 115 mph. WSP had to terminate their pursuit of the vehicle after Tunsel crossed the Nexus Lane border, said Washington State Patrol District 7 Public Information Officer Kelsey Harding. They informed the border patrol about the pursuit when they were nearing the Canadian border.

According to reports from Harding’s Twitter on Sunday, Tunsel allegedly continued driving erratically and did not stop after he entered Canada. A mile onto Highway 99 in Surrey, the vehicle collided with another vehicle. The Hyundai burst into flames becoming fully engulfed. Tunsel was able to get out of the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot but Royal Canadian Mounted Police attempted to restrain him. He was tased and tackled by RCMP after Tunsel allegedly tried to fight them off.

Tunsel was treated for his injuries in British Columbia and arrested by WSP on suspicion of operating without a license, attempting to elude the police and second-degree theft of a motor vehicle.

Tunsel was booked and taken into custody in the Whatcom County Jail at 10:35 a.m. Sunday.