A Vancouver woman is accused of leading sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase Wednesday night through north Clark County while under the influence of marijuana.
Leah D. Olinger, 35, appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of attempt to elude and driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Judge Suzan Clark set Olinger’s bail at $5,000. She is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 28.
A deputy attempted to stop Olinger around 8:15 p.m. for expired registration tabs on the black Volvo she was driving. She was driving east on Northeast 76th Street and turned north onto state Highway 503. The deputy said she was driving 20 mph in a 40 mph zone, according to a probable cause affidavit.
She almost rear-ended someone near the intersection of Highway 503 and Northeast 87th Street, the affidavit states. When the deputy turned on his overhead lights, he said Olinger started swerving and almost hit another driver. Olinger then began to speed up and continued to drift over the center line and run red lights, according to court records.
At one point, the deputy stated Olinger was driving over 120 mph, the affidavit says.
Pursuing deputies performed a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT, maneuver, and were able to get Olinger safely stopped, the affidavit states.
Deputies pursued Olinger for 17 miles — 15 miles of the chase being on Highway 503, according to court records. During the pursuit, deputies said she crossed the center line 16 times, crossed the fog line indicating the shoulder of the road 15 times, went into oncoming lanes twice and almost drove completely off the road.
Deputies said Olinger and her car smelled strongly of marijuana, and they could see marijuana paraphernalia in the car, according to the affidavit.
