Man gets 2 months for trying to elude state trooper
MOSES LAKE — A man who crashed into a guardrail and tried to elude a state trooper at speeds in excess of 115 mph last month will be spending two months in jail.
Miguel Ayala Pena, 20, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and was sentenced to a total of two months in jail. A charge of driving under the influence was dismissed in a plea agreement between the prosecution and defense.
The sentence relates to an incident in early August when the Washington State Patrol received word of a one-vehicle, non-injury hit-and-run collision on state Route 17. Troopers were advised the involved vehicle, a gold full-sized sedan, struck a guardrail and left the area heading south on SR-17, according to court documents.
A trooper was headed north on SR-17 looking for the vehicle and spotted a gold Chevrolet Impala parked on the southbound SR-17 shoulder. The trooper reported the male driver, Ayala Pena, had his head down with his arms pointed toward the steering wheel “almost like he was passed out.” The vehicle was heavily damaged and the trooper approached the car to see if the driver was injured. As the trooper approached from behind Ayala Pena put the vehicle into drive and took off at a high rate of speed. Ayala Pena reached speeds in excess of 115 mph and at one point weaved into oncoming traffic.
“The driver did not appear to be intentionally weaving into the oncoming lane but did not appear to be in good control of his steering. I decided to terminate the pursuit because I was afraid he would cause a head-on collision,” wrote the trooper.
The trooper slowed down to about 60 mph, but Ayala Pena drove for a bit and then proceeded to pull over to the SR-17 shoulder and stop. The trooper caught up to Ayala Pena and he was taken into custody. The trooper states Ayala Pena’s were “bloodshot” and he had a “very strong odor of intoxicants on his breath.”
The trooper reviewed Ayala Pena’s history and discovered he was driving with a suspended license in the second degree and had a DUI on his record.