Grand Coulee man driving a stolen bus leads police on chase

By CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Staff Writer

ELECTRIC CITY — A Grand Coulee man was booked into the Grant County Jail for motor vehicle theft and felony eluding after he allegedly stole a Grant Transit Authority bus Wednesday morning.

Richard D. Manley, 62, allegedly stole the bus in Moses Lake and drove more than 60 miles before he ran the bus off the road, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

No one was injured and the bus sustained minor damage, the press release said.

The bus was reported stolen at about 7 a.m., and law enforcement agencies throughout the county were asked to look for it. A sheriff’s deputy found the bus about 30 minutes later, near the town of Stratford on state Route 28.

The bus reached speeds of about 80 mph, the GCSO said.

Manley allegedly fled from officers north on Pinto Ridge Road, through the town of Coulee City, then north on state Route 155. Grand Coulee police officers used spike strips, which deflated one of the bus’s rear dual tires, but Manley was able to continue driving the vehicle.

Grand Coulee police set up a second set of spike strips near Electric City. They deflated the right front tire of the bus, but Manley kept going. About a half-mile further down the road, he veered off the road and stopped.

The Soap Lake Police Department and Washington State Patrol assisted the GCSO and MLPD in the pursuit.

A video by Soap Lake police showing part of the chase was posted at https://www.facebook.com/GrantCoSheriff/videos/346843629688890/.