Oregon State Police forced a fleeing driver to a stop Tuesday night, ending a high-speed chase that began on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Umatilla Tribal Police initiated a high risk stop on a car at 7:42 p.m. Tuesday on Mission Road near Short Mile Road, according to a written statement from Chuck Sams, spokesman for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The white Ford Focus matched the description of a vehicle stolen out of Washington state.
The Ford stopped, according to Sams, then sped off and tribal police pursued.
The chase left the reservation on Mission Road and entered Pendleton via Eastgate Drive. Cop cars followed as the Ford zoomed through downtown and neighborhood streets on the lower parts of the city’s North Hill. Police radio communications stated the car was going about 80 mph.
Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts reported his officers were not involved in the chase through town.
The Ford left the city at exit 209 and headed east on Interstate 84, according to state police, and Sams described the speeds as “excessive.” The Ford’s run came to an end near milepost 224, where state police reported troopers used a “tactical vehicle intervention technique” to force the car to a stop.
There, tribal police arrested Lionel Elias White, 29, of Yakima, and booked him into the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, for unauthorized use of a vehicle, felony attempt to elude reckless driving, and for driving without a license. Sams reported White is enrolled as a member of the Yakama Nation.
Natasha M. Jackson, 23, a member of the Yakama Nation, and Brittany M. Wesley, 28, of Pendleton were in the Ford as well, according to Sams and state police, but officers let them go.
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