SEATAC, Wash. — A miles-long car chase came to a crashing end Tuesday evening. It started in Tacoma’s Salishan neighborhood, near East 38th Street and Portland Avenue East and ended on an Interstate 5 offramp near SeaTac.
“All of a sudden behind me I heard someone really hard on their brakes,” said Cameron Wall, who sat at the red light at I-5 exit 151 to Military Road.
A high-speed chase came to a screeching halt on that offramp, right behind Cameron’s pickup truck. The sound made him look into his rearview mirror.
“A GMC Yukon full sideways doing a Tokyo drift came slamming into the back of me, so I held on my breaks as hard as I could,” Wall said.
The suspect then jumped out of the SUV window and made a beeline for Cameron’s truck bed.
“As soon as he jumped out and into the back of my truck I thought it was game on. I didn’t want him coming into my truck and either holding me hostage to drive him somewhere else or do any damage to me,” he said.
KIRO 7 has learned that the suspect is Tyrus Walker-Scott. Tacoma police said Walker-Scott was out on bail for previous robbery and weapons charges. Tuesday’s chase started after investigators said Walker-Scott cut off his ankle monitor near E. 38th St. and Portland Ave. E. That sent an alert to police, who said Walker-Scott then jumped into an SUV and took off. The chase topped speeds of over 100 mph.
“Luckily, the gun fell when he actually hit me so when he jumped out he didn’t have a gun. But it was on the floor of the vehicle when he jumped out,” Wall said.
After the crash, Walker-Scott ran into some nearby blackberry bushes. He was arrested after a short chase. A Tacoma Police officer broke his arm while taking Walker Scott into custody.
KIRO 7 learned Walker-Scott’s name through jail records. Tacoma police said he was booked Tuesday on warrants for robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle from an April arrest, and new charges for eluding and weapons.
“I think he was desperate. I’ll say that for sure. I don’t know if he was going to try to jump in because my window was busted out by then, so he could have if he wanted. I just wanted to make sure that he wasn’t going to,” said Cameron.
Tacoma PD could not confirm who owned the SUV Walker-Scott drove during the chase.
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