An escaped prison fugitive was apprehended in Pullman early Saturday morning after leading authorities on a high-speed chase.
The Whitman County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy attempted to stop a vehicle on State Route 195 just south of Colfax after observing several traffic violations which were consistent with impaired driving.
Shortly after the deputy attempted initiate the traffic stop, the driver of the vehicle immediately accelerated and attempted to speed away. While traveling soutbound, the vehicle was observed driving erratically and passing several vehicles at speeds in excess of 100 MPH. After pursuing the vehicle for several miles, the driver made a sudden U-turn before driving off the roadway into an adjacent field. At that time, a passenger exited the vehicle and was taken into custody by deputies.
The driver, continuing to be non-compliant, was able to drive the vehicle out of the field back onto Highway 195 before becoming stuck again in another field across the road. He then fled from that location on foot. Deputies searched the area extensively but were unable to locate the driver at that time.
A few hours later, deputies were notified of a passenger truck which had hit a parked vehicle on East Main Street in Pullman before being abandoned. The truck was identified as a stolen vehicle from a residence near the location of the earlier incident on Highway 195. With assistance from the Pullman Police Department, the driver of the vehicle, identified as 37year-old Gary Engebretesen, of Colville, Washington, was located walking towards the downtown area, just blocks from where he is believed to have crashed the stolen truck. He was safely taken into custody at that time.
While in custody, authorities learned Engebretesen had an active warrant with the Department of Corrections for Felony Escape. In addition, is was confirmed that the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria Engebretesen was originally driving was reported stolen several days earlier from a residence in Stevens County.
Engebretesen was booked into the Whitman County Jail on the Felony Escape warrant and now faces additional charges of Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Felony Eluding. The unidentified passenger in the case was transported to Pullman Regional Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
