Vancouver man run over by own car in police chase in Happy Valley, Ore.
By Andy Matarrese, Columbian
environment and transportation reporter
Published: November 21, 2018, 5:32pm
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A still from a police car's dash camera video shows a suspect in a pursuit, Isaiah Gellatly of Vancouver, climb out of his moving vehicle while fleeing pursuing police officers Monday night in Happy Valley, Ore. Gellatly's leg was pinned under one of the car's tires, and he was arrested and brought to a hospital with a broken leg once officials got him out. (Clackamas County Sheriff's Office)
A Vancouver man pinned his leg under his own car after he bailed from the vehicle while fleeing police in Happy Valley, Ore., on Monday, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect, Isaiah John Gellatly, 31, of Vancouver was still in the hospital with a broken leg Wednesday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office said the Happy Valley Police Department responded to a call about a theft in progress Monday night, where a caller said she saw a man trying to open the door to a car parked at her house. The man then walked to a neighbor’s house and took items from another vehicle, then left in a dark sedan, the caller told 911.
Law enforcement arrived and started looking for a suspect, and around 11:15 p.m., spotted a black Honda Accord with Washington plates carrying a pile of items in the back seat and throughout the car.
The driver, later identified as Gellatly, was lying fully reclined in the driver’s seat. When a sheriff’s deputy shined a spotlight into the car, Gellatly shot upright and sped away, according to the sheriff’s office.
He led police on a chase, blowing stop signs and driving into oncoming lanes at high speed, the sheriff’s office said. Other officers managed to puncture his tires with spike strips.
The Honda pulled into a business park with police still in pursuit. Gellatly opened the driver-side door and left the vehicle without putting it in park, running alongside his own car, the sheriff’s office said.
When he tried to cut in front of the car, it crashed into a building and tree, and pinned his leg under one of its flattened wheels.
Investigators found numerous, apparently stolen, items inside the car, and have returned some to at least two victims, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said Gellatly would be booked on charges likely including attempting to elude officers, reckless driving, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and second-degree theft once he’s discharged from the hospital.
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