Aberdeen police made an arrest on a suspected intoxicated driver Sunday afternoon after a brief chase.

Alerted by an off-duty officer of a vehicle exhibiting severe lane drift, an officer saw the vehicle as it entered town and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the 1000 block of East Wishkah Street, said Lt. Jeff Weiss.

The driver attempted to evade as soon as the officer hit his lights, Weiss said in the news release. The officer pursued the vehicle, which struck two occupied vehicles before losing control and wrecking in the grass at Zelasko Park.

“It wasn’t even three minutes. It was super fast,” Weiss said in an interview. “It was immediately, she’s fleeing, and immediately she’s wrecking.”

Maria Helen Hale was detained for attempting to elude the police vehicle, two counts of occupied hit and run, driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence, Weiss said in the news release. A drug recognition officer called to the scene determined the driver appeared to be under the influence of illegal drugs, Weiss said. Evidence of drug paraphernalia was visible in the vehicle, Weiss said.

“In the car, in plain view, we could see foil and what appears to be fentanyl powder,” Weiss said. “The car was seized under a search warrant.”

DUI arrests have been trending up, Weiss said. A designated traffic officer and drug recognition officer have been put in place to help combat that trend, Weiss said.

“We’re seeing an increase in them,” Weiss said. “I think we’re seeing more marijuana/illegal drug arrests than alcohol arrests, but there’s still a lot of alcohol arrests.”

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.