This man hit 120 mph in rush hour traffic to escape the cops

A rape suspect left wreckage in his wake as he fled police before officers spiked his tires and bumped him off Interstate 82.

Police had searched for Richard Vasquez, 30, of Pasco, for about three weeks.

Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers issued a notice Wednesday to keep a look out for him.

Pasco police officers spotted Vasquez, 30, sometime before 3:45 p.m. near Hood Avenue and Volland Street in Kennewick driving a Nissan Altima.

Vasquez, who had a woman and two children in the car with him, booked it.

He tore down Edison and onto Highway 240, reaching speeds of 120 mph during rush hour, said Pasco police Sgt. Bill Parramore.

Officers followed him as he crossed the median and began heading west on the highway. He allegedly hit two patrol cars and another vehicle before making onto Interstate 182.

After trying to deploy spike strips at least once before, officers managed to puncture his tires on Interstate 82.

They pushed Vasquez off the road on the Dallas Road exit.

Vasquez had a bloody patch on his nose from an injury during the chase, but police said no one else was hurt.

Vasquez is accused of raping a woman in a Rodeway Inn motel room Jan. 17.

He is charged with first-degree rape and unlawful imprisonment in Franklin County Superior Court.

He allegedly attacked the woman after she dropped him off, Pasco Detective Jed Abastillas wrote in his statement. When she woke up, she tried to escape, but he held her down.

She got out of the door when he suffered an “overdose episode,” Abastillas said.

He allegedly chased her, but she got into her car and escaped.

This story was originally published February 14, 2018 at 3:59 PM with the headline "This man hit 120 mph in rush hour traffic to escape the cops."