Drive-by shooting sparks chase and accidents in Yakima | Crime and Courts

A reported drive-by shooting Sunday afternoon led to a chase and several crashes before police arrested three suspects near 40th and Englewood Avenue in Yakima.

Yakima police arrested three suspects after their vehicle crashed at the intersection and they fled on foot, said Yvette Inzunza, YPD spokeswoman.

The incident began at 1:52 p.m. when officers responded to reports of shots fired at Casket Hubbard Park, Inzunza reported.

“There was an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles. Patrol officers located the suspect vehicle (SUV),” she reported in an email to the Herald-Republic.

“The suspect’s vehicle did not stop for police, escaped, and a chase ensued,” Inzunza added. The pursuit went through Naches and then back to Yakima.

The suspects’ SUV was seen at the intersection of 40th and Summitview Avenue, and two minutes later, a two-vehicle crash occurred at the intersection of 40th and Richey Road, just north of Lincoln Avenue, Inzunza reported.

Shortly thereafter, the suspect’s vehicle was involved in a three-vehicle crash at the corner of 40th Street and Englewood that left the suspect’s SUV disabled, police said.

At that point, the suspects fled on foot, while the driver and two passengers were arrested at the scene by SWAT team members and police officers, Inzunza reported. The suspects did not suffer life-threatening injuries in the collisions, she added.

The driver was charged with drive-by shooting, fleeing, two counts of assault with a vehicle and two counts of hit-and-run, Inzunza said. The two passengers were charged with drive-by shooting.

Information on the other drivers and passengers involved in the two accidents was not available as of 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The incident remains under investigation. 40th Avenue from Lincoln to Kern Road is expected to be closed until Sunday evening. Police are asking motorists to avoid the area.