SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — A man was arrested Tuesday for ramming into a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office patrol car while trying to run from law enforcement.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies tried to stop 40-year-old Matthew D. Gardner around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. SCSO says Gardner was speeding on East Trent Avenue, west of North Pines Road.
Deputies saw Gardner turn onto Cement Road. SCSO says Gardner was speeding and did not stop at the stop sign.
SCSO tried to pull Gardner over, but he continued to speed away from the deputy.
Gardner turned onto Frederick Avenue. Once he realized it was a dead end, he made a U-turn in a driveway to try and get away from a patrol car.
A second patrol car in the area slowed and tried to turn off the road to avoid a crash, but Gardner rammed into the front of the patrol car and continued into the side of a parked SUV.
The crash caused damage to the front end of the patrol car and caused the airbags to deploy.
Gardner was soon taken into custody.
While in custody, Gardner said he didn’t realize at first that deputies were trying to stop him. He said he ran because his vehicle wasn’t registered and there was fentanyl and methamphetamine in the car.
Gardner said he thought only one deputy was chasing him and when he turned around at the dead end, he thought the deputy would move out of the way.
Both Gardner and the deputy in the second car were evaluated at the hospital for minor injuries.
SCSO said Gardner has been booked into jail three times this year alone. Each time, he was released on his own recognizance.
Gardner was booked into jail for attempting to elude a law enforcement vehicle and second-degree assault. His vehicle was seized pending a search warrant.
SCSO said this is an active investigation and additional charges are possible.
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