A Grays Harbor County sheriff’s deputy set off a 55-mile chase for a suspected driver under the influence early Friday morning that ended near Tokeland after they attempted to stop the driver north of Aberdeen.
Mitchell Roy Mullins was arrested for felony attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, driving under the influence and second-degree driving with license suspended.
The deputy first noticed Mullins showing signs of driving under the influence on Wishkah Road, said Sheriff Darrin Wallace.
“They determined the individual driving the car was driving under the influence,” Wallace said in a phone interview. “The driver was showing patterns of DUI so we were able to pursue.”
Washington law limits the reasons officers may pursue a suspect in a vehicle, but DUIs are one of the reasons an officer may get permission to pursue, according to a social media post from the sheriff’s office.
“Most people will stop,” Wallace said, about those pulled over for DUI.
At speeds reaching up to about 80 miles an hour, the sheriff’s deputy pursued Mullins south, across the bridge to South Aberdeen and out toward Westport. An officer from the Westport Police Department was able to place a spike strip to vent one of Mullins’ front tires, but Mullins kept driving south on the flat tire.
A second spike strip, placed by a Shoalwater Bay Tribal officer near the entry to reservation land, was able to vent the second front tire, before a deputy was able to execute a pursuit immobilization technique on Mullins’ vehicle near Tokeland.
Mullins was detained without further incident at that point, Wallace said, and there were no injuries. One of the patrol vehicles was damaged, while Mullins’ wheels were severely damaged by driving without air.
“It was indicative that he drove that car for a long time with no air in the tires,” Wallace said.
Concerns about intoxicated drivers driving poorly and striking vehicles in an oncoming lane is one of the reasons law enforcement personnel will pursue in suspected DUI cases, Wallace said.
“We don’t want people to drink and drive. That’s why we stop them,” Wallace said. “We don’t want anyone to get involved in a head-on collision.”
As of Tuesday, Mullins is being held at the Grays Harbor County Jail.
Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
