A stolen pickup crashed through the front door of a house in Camas’ Prune Hill area Monday morning, the Camas Police Department said. The driver busted out the back window and ran from the scene, but police caught a suspect about a mile away.
Around 11:15 a.m., the Washington State Patrol got reports of a Nissan pickup driving recklessly on state Highway 14. Many people called about the truck weaving across the roadway and almost causing collisions. The license plate number came back to a truck that was reported stolen on Sunday night.
Minutes later, at 11:21 a.m., police got a call about the same truck crashing into a house at 2725 N.W. 24th Ave. The truck crashed through the front door and became lodged in the brick entryway. The truck’s doors were pinned in the entryway, so the driver kicked out the back window and ran from the scene.
The homeowner, Ann Degenshein, was working in her home office at the time of the crash.
“My office is right next to where he drove in,” she said. “I heard what I thought was a crash in the street. It didn’t sound loud enough that he was in my house, on my porch.”
She heard people outside and tried to open her door but couldn’t — the front door had fallen down and was blocking the hallway. So she opened her window and saw the truck sticking out of the front entrance and people in her driveway. That’s when she dialed 911.
“There’s no skidmark on the street or my driveway,” Degenshein said. “He never braked.”
She never saw the driver who crashed into her house. The owner of the pickup, which was towed away, came by her house later in the day.
Officers with the Washougal and Vancouver police departments, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol and a K-9 helped Camas police search for the driver.
Police got various reports from neighbors who said they saw the suspect running through backyards.
He was found about a mile from the house near Northwest 23rd Avenue and Iris Court, hiding underneath a wheelbarrow in the bed of pickup, police said. He was taken into custody and transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for treatment of possible injuries.
He declined to identify himself and didn’t have any identification on him, Camas police said. He will be booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of felony possession of a stolen vehicle, hit and run and reckless driving, police said.
“We’re investigating a possible DUI charge. We don’t know whether alcohol or drugs are involved, but we want to find out,” said Sgt. Scot Boyles.
