BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A man was booked into Whatcom County Jail following a high-speed pursuit in heavy rain that ended with the driver fleeing the vehicle after crashing into a light pole and then a power pole.
On February 25th, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputies were in the 700 block of Chuckanut Drive (SR11) assisting the Washington State Patrol when a Toyota Avalon was seen northbound without visible license plates according to an affidavit filed in Whatcom County Superior Court by prosecutors.
A deputy caught up to the vehicle, which was traveling at a slow rate of speed, braking erratically and driving across the center line. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was contacted by a deputy. Drug paraphernalia was visible inside the vehicle and the driver was believed to be under the influence of a drug. When asked about the paraphernalia, the driver sped off.
Deputies pursed the car which “traveled in the center of the roadway creating an immediate risk of serious bodily harm to his two passengers and any other motorists.”
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A pursuit intervention technique (PIT) was unsuccessfully attempted on 12th Street in Fairhaven. He then drove between 55 and 65mph on S State Street while continuing to cross the center line. A spike strip was placed in the road near the S State Street roundabout. The Toyota swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid the spike strip, drove onto a sidewalk, struck a light pole and then a power pole. The driver and a passenger fled the car on foot. The front seat passenger remained in the car and was later transported by ambulance to PeaceHealth St Joseph Medical Center with a leg injury.
The fleeing driver and passenger were captured by a WCSO K9 unit “a few hundred yards away.”
The driver, identified as Angel Lewis Leffingwell, age 38, was taken into custody and booked into the Whatcom County Jail. During booking, a baggie with about 8 grams of pills identified as Alprazolam “but the pills had the appearance of a counterfeit substance and was sent for testing.”
Leffingwell currently faces the following felony charges in Whatcom County Superior Court.
- attempting to elude a police vehicle
- vehicular assault while under the influence causing substantial bodily harm
As of March 5th, Leffingwell remained in custody at the jail pending being able to post a $60,000 bond or $6,000 cash bail.
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