Published Jan. 19, 2006

Bizarre scene follows car chase

BY SCOTT GUTIERREZ

THE OLYMPIAN

As the deputy approached the suspect, he could see her hands in the air and something large wrapped around her neck.

When he moved closer in the dark, he saw it was something slithery and about 4 feet long.

"A boa constrictor wrapped around someone's neck in a stolen car at 4:45 a.m., it adds a little more tension to a tense situation," Thurston County sheriff's Chief Criminal Deputy Dan Kimball said.

The snake is the woman's pet, and it stayed around her neck as she rode in a stolen pickup being chased from Thurston

County into Centralia early Wednesday.

When the chase ended, the driver abandoned the vehicle. The 31-year-old Toutle woman stayed behind and surrendered to the deputy, who had pursued the pickup four miles down Old Highway 99.

Start of pursuit

The pursuit started after someone notified the deputy that people in a white pickup were trespassing on property on Hobson Road.

As the deputy headed in that direction, a white pickup passed him going the opposite way. He turned around to stop the pickup, reported stolen from Cowlitz County, Kimball said.

That's when the pickup accelerated, eventually reaching speeds of 80 mph. The driver stopped on a side street in Centralia when the deputy momentarily lost sight of him. When the deputy found the vehicle, the driver had fled and both doors were open, Kimball said.

The driver remained at large Wednesday night, Kimball said.

The woman, who was cooperative, was not arrested, Kimball said.

The deputy was happy he didn't have to figure out what to do with the snake, Kimball said. A family member came to the site to take the woman and her pet home.

The woman's name was not available Wednesday night, Kimball said. The case will be referred to the prosecutor's office for possible charges against her.

Deputies often deal with unusual situations and cases involving animals such as horses or a bat in a house, Kimball said.

The boa was unique, he said. "What else is next?"

Scott Gutierrez covers courts, crime and law enforcement for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or by e-mail at sgutierrez@theolympian.com.

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