City-long chase ends in Kennewick crash
What started with a man trying to run over someone on a farm south of Finley ended in a chase Tuesday night across Kennewick.
A property owner spotted Timothy Velasquez, 44, standing near his farmland off of Beck Road around 7 a.m. Tuesday. While he thought it was strange, he drove off, only to return two hours later to find Velasquez gone, but the gate busted open, said Benton County sheriff’s Lt. Mat Clarke.
The owner and a coworker went down the road in a pickup, then stopped when they spotted Velasquez’s Chrysler 300 parked. They got out and saw Velasquez come walking out of a nearby area. When the property owner confronted him, Velasquez jumped into his car and spun it around.
As he gunned it for the exit, he drove straight at the coworker, who barely had enough time to jump out of the way before the Chrysler slammed into the pickup, Clarke said.
Investigators said they figured out it was Velasquez’s car and started hunting him.
Deputies spotted the car around 9:15 p.m. on Interstate 82. Velasquez noticed and sped up to get away, hitting 100 mph.
Velasquez pulled off at the exit for Badger Road with deputies on his tail, investigators said.
When Velasquez reached the roundabout at Clearwater Avenue and Leslie Road, deputies signaled him to stop.
Velasquez kept recklessly driving through Kennewick, so deputies backed off for the safety of the other drivers, Clarke said.
They caught back up to him at Columbia Center Boulevard and tailed him.
Police popped his tires with spike strips, then tried pulling him over again, Clarke said.
He didn’t get far this time. After trying to drive on ruined tires, he crashed the car into the curb at 10th Avenue and Highway 395 in Kennewick, Clarke said.
Velasquez got out of the car and tried to walk away before officers caught him, Clarke said.
Deputies booked Velasquez into jail on investigative holds for second-degree assault, hit-and-run, attempting to elude police, meth possession and criminal trespassing, according to Benton County jail records.
This story was originally published September 26, 2018 at 8:28 AM.