Suspected intoxicated driver arrested after low-speed chase

A Vancouver man suspected of intoxicated driving was arrested after he led police on a low-speed chase in the Orchards area.

Someone called 911 at about 3:45 a.m. Saturday after witnessing a driver passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle stopped at a traffic light at Northeast 117th Avenue and Northeast 99th Street, Clark County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Pritchard said.

The person who called 911 did so after banging on the vehicle’s window, which failed to wake the driver, Pritchard said.

When a deputy arrived and approached the vehicle, the driver woke up and drove away, Pritchard said.

He said the deputy witnessed the vehicle being driven westbound in the eastbound lanes and that the driver ran a few stop signs. Deputies turn on their lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the driver over, but he continued on at relatively low speeds, Pritchard said. 

He said the driver then drove onto a dead-end road where deputies pinned the vehicle with their patrol cars.

They arrested 22-year-old Joseph Whalen on suspicion of felony attempting to elude police, driving under the influence of intoxicants and driving with a suspended or revoked license.