A Bonney Lake man who allegedly led Clark County sheriff’s deputies on a chase Monday night through Minnehaha, colliding with two patrol cars, appeared in court Tuesday.
Travis Robert Streeter, 33, made a first appearance via Zoom on suspicion of second-degree assault, attempt to elude, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, third-degree driving with a suspended license and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Clark County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Snider found probable cause for all of the allegations except the latter, because the affidavit did not mention anything about a stolen vehicle, she said. The prosecution said it planned to supplement the document later in the day.
Snider described the allegations as concerning and said it’s unclear if Streeter has underlying mental health issues or if drug and alcohol use was involved. The judge set his bail at $20,000.
A patrol deputy was traveling north on Northeast St. Johns Road from Northeast 54th Street around 8:10 p.m. when he saw a white Ford F-450 box truck, towing a cargo trailer, traveling in the wrong direction. The truck nearly caused a head-on collision, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The truck pulled into a parking lot in the 5900 block of St. Johns Road, at which time the deputy initiated a traffic stop. The driver pulled over near the exit of the parking lot to Northeast 60th Street, the affidavit says.
When the deputy contacted the driver, the man, later identified as Streeter, provided a name that was determined to be fabricated and said his license was suspended, court records state.
“Travis appeared nervous and was looking around past me and was unusually hunched over in the driver’s seat. I asked him if he had consumed any alcohol or marijuana. Travis denied any alcohol or marijuana use, but his behavior appeared odd and atypical,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit.
Streeter told the deputy he was heading west on 60th Street and tried to make a U-turn in the intersection with St. Johns Road. He said he couldn’t get wide enough and didn’t realize St. Johns was a one-way road, the affidavit says.
As the deputy ran the information provided by Streeter, two other deputies arrived and Streeter drove off, according to court records. The truck drove in the middle of the road, forcing another vehicle to pull off to let it pass, deputies said.
The pursuit continued toward the intersection of Northeast Minnehaha Street and St. Johns Road, where the truck went through the intersection and turned south toward vehicles stopped at the light. It drove the wrong way again and nearly collided with the vehicles, before going off the road into grass toward a patrol vehicle, the affidavit states.
Deputies followed the truck through various neighborhoods. As it approached a dead end on Northeast 56th Street, the truck made a wide turn, cut up on the curb and collided head-on with a patrol vehicle, court records say. The deputy suffered a minor injury, according to the sheriff’s office.
The pursuit continued through the Truman neighborhood. A deputy said he tried five to six times to perform a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT, maneuver, on the truck’s trailer but was unsuccessful.
The truck continued west on Northeast 54th Street toward 40th Avenue. Several deputies were already at the intersection. The driver slowed and tried to take a wide southbound turn onto 40th Avenue but collided with a sergeant’s vehicle. Both vehicles went into a yard in the 5400 block, according to the affidavit.
The truck continued into the yard, through trees and crashed into a truck parked in a driveway, the affidavit says.
Streeter was uninjured; he was taken into custody without further incident.
The truck and trailer he was driving were found to be stolen, the sheriff’s office said.
