Moses Lake man arrested after high-speed chase

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man was booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of felony eluding and other charges after allegedly leading local law enforcement and Washington State Patrol troopers on a high-speed chase Tuesday afternoon.  

Omar Cantu, 22, was eventually arrested in Kittitas County after the car he was driving suffered mechanical problems, said Kyle Foreman, Grant County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, in a press release.  

Cantu allegedly was driving the wrong way in downtown Moses Lake on Tuesday; he fled when a Moses Lake Police Department officer tried to stop him. Cantu ran a stoplight, and MLPD officers stopped the pursuit, Foreman said.  

Law enforcement officers then received a report about a car matching the description of the wrong-way driver causing a hit-and-run crash. The car, a 1999 Honda, was reported heading west on Interstate 90. Sheriff’s deputies and WSP troopers pursued the driver at speeds up to 80 miles per hour, Foreman said.  

“Deputies tried to use spike strips, but the Honda drove around them,” Foreman said. “The pursuit was called off as the Honda neared the Vantage Bridge construction zone.” 

State patrol troopers arrested Cantu in Kittitas County after his car suffered mechanical problems, Foreman said. He was arrested on suspicion of felony eluding, hit and run of an attended vehicle and reckless driving.