Suspect eludes police after vehicle chase

POST FALLS - A stolen vehicle suspect eluded police during a vehicle chase in Post Falls on Wednesday night.

Dispatchers noticed plates matching those on a stolen vehicle on a green 1993 Dodge truck with Washington plates headed westbound on Interstate 90 at 8:47 p.m. as it passed police license plate-reading cameras.

The male driver exited I-90 across from Trading Co. store and turned east onto Seltice Way.

"An officer attempted to stop the driver, the truck slowed to a stop at Bay Street and a female passenger got out of the truck with her hands in the air," said Post Falls Police Capt. Greg McLean.

The male driver then went westbound on Third Avenue at speeds that reached 65 mph. The pursuit continued onto southbound Spokane Street, across the Spokane River bridge and onto East Riverview Drive headed toward Coeur d'Alene.

"The officer terminated the pursuit on the sharp corners (of East Riverview) because he wanted to avoid a head-on collision," McLean said.

The vehicle was recovered by the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department at 8:17 a.m. on Thursday near Highland Drive and Jasper Road.

The female, a transient, was not charged. The male driver remains on the loose. Police don't have a firm name of the suspect because the female provided police multiple names.

"She claims the guy picked her up for a ride," McLean said.

Those with information are urged to contact Post Falls Police at 773-3517.