PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An attempted murder suspect died after running from police into traffic on I-5 Friday night, getting hit by an oncoming motorist and closing the freeway near ilani Casino for hours.
The suspect, who was identified as Robert J. Flubacher, was wanted by Longview police for an attempted murder. When Flubacher was about to drive onto I-5, Longview police contacted the Washington State Patrol.
Troopers intercepted the suspect, WSP Trooper Will Finn told KOIN 6 News, and engaged in a pursuit for more than 20 miles before the Woodland Police Department laid out spike strips near the exit to the ilani Casino.
Flubacher jumped out of the car, ran across the southbound lanes and into the northbound lanes. That was where an oncoming driver hit and killed the suspect. He was 55 and a resident of Longview.
The driver, a 43-year-old woman, was not injured but her car was totaled.
“If you can imagine driving down the freeway at a speed that is freeway speed and then striking someone, it would be very detrimental not only emotionally, but also physically to whatever vehicle was striking a pedestrian,” Finn said.
A passenger inside the fleeing car was taken into custody, he said. That person has also not been publicly identified.
How it began
Early Saturday evening, Longview police said the original incident began around 6 p.m. over a fight between people using a baseball bat and a knife in the 400 block of 17th Avenue.
As officers arrived, the driver in a black Dodge Caliper sideswiped a Longview police car and kept going. Investigators spoke with witnesses who said the Dodge driver had repeatedly tried to stab a 25-year-old man and threatened to kill him in what they described as an unprovoked attack.
Then around 8:30 p.m. a Longview detective spotted the Dodge in the 1400 block of Beech Street. Patrol cars arrived in the area and the driver sped off toward I-5.
Other law enforcement agencies then joined in the chase as the suspect greater than 100 mph, officials said.
The case in Longview remains open and under investigation.
KOIN 6 News will continue to follow this story.