Hoquiam Police Department patrol car hit by suspected drunken driver

HOQUIAM, Wash. — A suspected drunken driver hit a Hoquiam Police Department patrol car as officers responded to reports of an “unknown problem” at an apartment complex Tuesday night, the Police Department announced.

Police said they were dispatched to the apartment complex in the 2400 block of Bay Avenue around 10 p.m.

Officers said a female caller indicated someone inside her apartment needed an ambulance but dispatchers were unable to determine the exact problem due to a language barrier.

Arriving officers parked on opposite sides of the building and were directed by tenants standing on their balcony to a black Nissan pickup truck parked on the grass on the east side of the complex.

"As Sgt. Salstrom approached the truck, the driver suddenly started the vehicle and drove forward crashing into the side of the apartment building. The impact jarred the two-story structure and awoke several tenants," the Police Department said in a news release.

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Police said the driver started to back up and Sgt. Salstrom ran back to his patrol car under the assumption that the driver was attempting to flee the scene.

"Instead of driving away however, the driver pulled forward toward the nearby patrol car. Sgt. Salstrom had to jump out of the way as the driver rammed into the driver-side rear of the parked HPD patrol car," police said.

Officers said they used a taser on the driver when he refused to exit the vehicle and took him into custody. The driver was later identified as a 28-year-old Federal Way man, according to police

Police said they determined the driver was drinking at the apartment and allegedly assaulted a female occupant he had just met before he attempted to leave in his vehicle.

"It appeared the suspect had also side-swiped the victim's parked car as he drove from the back to the side of the building before he was found by Sgt. Salstrom," police said.

Police said the suspect’s vehicle was impounded at the scene and the suspect was booked into the Hoquiam City Jail on suspicion of fourth Degree Assault, hit-and-run and driving under the influence.

Cox Media Group