The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man who allegedly rammed his truck into a patrol vehicle and led deputies in a backtracking chase on Interstate 5 in Bellingham early Sunday.
Crayton Todd Williams, 44, was jailed at Whatcom County Jail on April 24 on suspicion of multiple felonies, including first-degree assault, attempt to evade police, DUI, possession of a substance controlled, illegal possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle. and reckless endangerment.
At around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies spotted the truck Williams was driving without a license plate southbound on Interstate 5 near the Meridian Street exit, sheriff’s office spokesperson Deb Slater told the Bellingham Herald. in an email on Monday, April 25. was moving at speeds between 35 and 50 mph, swaying in its lane and had an unsecured load.
Deputies attempted to stop the truck, and Williams pulled off the freeway and slowed to the right, as if intending to stop, Slater reported, but the truck instead accelerated and swerved. hit the front passenger side of the sheriff’s office patrol vehicle and pushed it down. the off-ramp onto I-5.
Deputies followed, but Williams refused to stop and at one point drove north into the south lanes of the freeway, according to Slater.
Deputies performed a pursuit intervention technique called a PIT maneuver, which deflated the truck’s driver-side rear tire, Slater reported, but Williams continued, leaving sparks in its wake.
A second PIT maneuver stopped Williams’ vehicle, according to Slater, but Williams refused orders to exit the vehicle. Instead, deputies reported he was seen leaning under and behind his seat.
Deputies deployed less-lethal pepper powder in the vehicle, and Williams got out and was arrested, Slater reported.
Deputies observed a .380 automatic pistol on the floor of the truck between the door and the driver’s seat, according to Slater, along with drug paraphernalia. A motorcycle, which had been reported stolen to Bellingham Police Department, was in the bed of the lorry and had obscured a modified temporary number plate in the rear window of the lorry.
After obtaining a warrant, deputies found a blue fentanyl M30 pill that had been partially smoked inside the truck, Slater reported.
Whatcom County Superior Court records show Williams had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on a charge of evading police beginning Dec. 29 following a law enforcement investigation. order on a vehicle dropping off a man with a gunshot wound to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham. The shooting victim is Williams’ son, according to court documents in the case.
Court records also show Williams was already due to be arraigned for possession of a stolen vehicle on Monday following another incident in late 2021 and is awaiting trial on failure to register as a sex offender charge from the end of 2019.
Additionally, court records show that Williams has previous convictions for theft, indecent liberty, unlawful possession of firearms, attempting to evade police, failure to register as a sex offender, breach of custody in the community and jump bail.
