UPDATE: David S. Weatherly pleaded guilty May 8, 2019, in Clark County Superior Court to attempting to elude police, reckless driving and hit-and-run-attended (vehicle damage) and was sentenced to six months in jail, court records show.
A Bremerton man who allegedly struck a tank truck Monday while fleeing Washington State Patrol troopers on Interstate 5 made a first court appearance Tuesday.
David S. Weatherly, 34, appeared in Clark County Superior Court on allegations of attempting to elude police, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, resisting arrest, obstructing a public servant and third-degree driving with a suspended or revoked license. He also had a District Court warrant, court records show. Judge Robert Lewis set bail at $20,000.
A trooper pulled over a man, later identified as Weatherly, at 2:35 p.m. Monday for driving off the road and not wearing a seat belt, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Weatherly said he did not have identification, the affidavit states.
WSP communications advised troopers at the scene that Weatherly had a suspended license along with misdemeanor and felony warrants out of Pierce and King counties, according to the affidavit. The troopers told Weatherly he was going to be taken into custody.
Weatherly then started his car and put it into gear. After a trooper tried to open the driver’s-side door and found it was locked, Weatherly accelerated at high speed, the affidavit said.
After driving through a red light at Northeast 78th Street, Weatherly continued straight in a right-turn-only lane and nearly lost control of his vehicle before entering the onramp of southbound I-5, according to the affidavit. A trooper followed without emergency lights as Weatherly drove well over 100 mph on the freeway and weaved through traffic, the affidavit said.
Weatherly attempted to pass on the inside shoulder at Northeast 39th Street before losing control and rear-ending a tank truck, according to the affidavit. The truck driver felt a jolt and continued down the freeway a short way until he could pull over to the shoulder, Trooper Will Finn said.
After crossing three lanes and exiting at Northeast 39th Street, causing the moderate traffic flow to briefly halt, Weatherly continued a short distance before the car became disabled, the affidavit said.
“The driver was about to exit the vehicle and looked at me,” a trooper who arrived at the scene wrote in the affidavit. “The defendant then began reaching back toward the center console of his vehicle. In fear he may be retrieving a weapon, I made attempts to reverse my patrol car.”
But Weatherly suddenly exited the vehicle and ran up an embankment. The trooper caught up to him on foot, took him to the ground and arrested him, according to the affidavit. The entire chase lasted about two minutes, Finn said. Weatherly was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for minor injuries and then was booked into the Clark County Jail.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Friday.
