Assault Suspect Rams 3 Police Cars Before Crashing: Sheriff

COWLITZ COUNTY, WA — Deputies in southwest Washington narrowly avoided what could have been a much more catastrophic situation early Friday when a fleeing Battle Ground woman rammed no fewer than three separate patrol vehicles during a chase.

Hilary Christine Rick, 30, was taken to hospital before she was lodged at Clark County jail, according to Clark County Sheriff's Office authorities. She is reportedly facing several charges of assault and attempt to elude police.

The chase involving Rick reportedly began around 6:30 a.m. May 10 after deputies received a call for an assault involving a woman with a baseball bat. After identifying Rick as the assault suspect, a deputy spotted her trying to quickly drive out of the area, officials said.

The deputy immediately initiated a traffic stop but Rick reportedly refused to pull over.

A Clark County deputy and Battle Ground police officer both chased Rick into Cowlitz County on SR-503 before attempting to stop her by using the PIT maneuver. However, Rick instead rammed one of the patrol cars and avoided spinning out.

A little further down SR-503, other deputies deployed a spike strip while another officer used the PIT maneuver again. After the second PIT attempt, Rick rammed two more patrol vehicles before ending up in a ditch where both she and her unidentified passenger were arrested without further incident.

Clark County officials did not say any law enforcement personnel were injured during the pursuit.