GRANDVIEW, Washington — Authorities were searching into the evening Tuesday for two men who opened fire on a Washington State Patrol trooper following a high-speed chase in the Lower Yakima Valley.
Trooper Nate Dawson was not struck, but his vehicle was hit by several bullets before the gunmen ran into a vineyard on a rural road west of Grandview on Monday evening.
A drone and patrol cars were continuing to search the area Tuesday evening.
The incident began on State Route 241 near Alexander Road north of Sunnyside about 9 p.m. when Dawson attempted to stop a black Honda Accord for speeding.
Instead of stopping, the driver of the car — which troopers say was initially traveling 69 mph in a posted 55 mph zone — led Dawson on a six-minute chase with speeds exceeding 100 mph. The car pulled into the unpaved driveway of a home in the 3000 block of Forsell Road, where two men got out and shot at Dawson, who had stopped about 40 to 50 feet away before returning fire, troopers said.
Multiple bullets struck the front end, windshield and in-car computer of Dawson’s State Patrol SUV, but the trooper escaped injury by ducking behind the vehicle. He called for backup to help search for the men in the vast vineyards surrounding the property.
Local police, sheriff’s deputies and others, including a SWAT team, were called out and a police dog tracked the suspects to a large shop behind the home. A remote-controlled robot was sent into the building, which turned out to be empty.
The homeowners — a husband and wife — were safely removed from the residence and determined not to be involved in the incident, trooper Chris Thorson said.
As a plane flew over the area searching for the men, troopers worked to obtain a search warrant for the Honda, which contained a large, black suitcase. Troopers did not disclose what they found in the suitcase or anything else in the vehicle.
Trooper Dawson, who has been with the State Patrol about a year, was placed on home assignment for the duration of the investigation as per standard protocol for any trooper who fires his weapon in the line of duty.
Anyone with information that might help the investigation is asked to call State Patrol Sgt. Greg Tri at 509-249-6741.
Desk phone: (509) 759-7853
———
©2017 Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.)
Visit Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.) at www.yakima-herald.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
