1 week Ago
The 36-year-old man arrested for leading a Washington State Patrol trooper on a high speed car chase near Colfax admitted to the crime. Angel Cartagena pleaded guilty to felony attempted eluding Friday morning in Whitman County Superior Court. Court Commissioner Doug Robinson sentenced him to four months in prison, which he said was the middle of the standard range.
Court documents show a trooper began the pursuit Nov. 20 when he clocked Cartagena driving over 90 mph in a Toyota Prius on Washington State Route 26 west of Colfax. The officer flashed his emergency lights, but the suspected vehicle failed to yield and began accelerating instead.
While the trooper tried catching up to the Prius, court documents say he observed Cartagena overtaking vehicles in no-passing zones at dangerous speeds. The Prius entered Colfax on U.S.
Highway 195 and ran a stop sign while passing several vehicles. Court documents indicate the car chase ended when the vehicle broke down while trying to climb Buck Canyon north of town. The trooper noted in the probable cause affidavit Cartagena appeared jittery, and he believed Cartagena was under the influence of meth.
Cartagena told law enforcement his female passenger was hurt and was having a drug overdose. He denied using any drugs but admitted the woman had, and was trying to take her to the hospital despite driving in the wrong direction..
