UPDATE: Freda Lynn Currier was sentenced Feb. 1, 2019, in Clark County Superior Court to six months in jail after pleading guilty to third-degree assault and attempting to elude police. She will also serve a year of community custody, according to court records. The judgment states that “reasonable grounds exist to believe the defendant is a mentally ill person … and that this condition is likely to have influenced the offense.”
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A Seattle woman faces several allegations in Clark County Superior Court for allegedly leading deputies on a high-speed freeway chase and ramming a law enforcement vehicle.
Freda Lynn Currier, 52, was arrested Friday on suspicion of first-degree assault, attempting to elude police and intimidation of a public servant.
At about 12:30 a.m., a Clark County sheriff’s deputy, who was transporting a person in custody, witnessed a large red van speeding up to 95 mph on southbound Interstate 5 near Ridgefield. The deputy “advised the van was swerving between lanes of travel so violently he feared the van was going to flip over,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Back-up deputies were called, as the deputy decided it was too dangerous to engage in a chase while someone was in his vehicle. Responding deputies tried to stop the van with a spike strip, but they missed, according to the affidavit.
The van continued onto the I-5 Bridge and over the Columbia River, at which point it suddenly slowed down to about 25 mph, according to the affidavit. A deputy used their car to pivot the van, which crashed into a retaining wall, bounced off of it and turned around to face north.
The driver, later identified as Currier, accelerated toward the deputy’s vehicle, crashing into it head-on, according to the affidavit. Currier’s van broke down from the impact, and deputies took her into custody.
As Currier was being arrested, she reportedly said, “I’m a federal marshal. I will shoot you.” While en route to the Clark County Jail, she said from the back seat to a deputy, “Hey, you’re about to get six bullets, duty,” the affidavit says.
Deputies booking Currier into the jail noted she had “observable mental health problems.” They did not believe she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Judge Scott Collier set Currier’s bail at $50,000 during an initial court appearance Monday morning. Currier’s arraignment was scheduled for July 20.
