Whatcom police chase takes turn when woman allegedly tries to back into state trooper
A woman reportedly holding a man against his will led police on a high-speed chase through Ferndale and Bellingham and tried to hit a state trooper with her car before she was stopped by a spike strip on Interstate 5 early Saturday.
Nobody was injured in the incident, Washington State Patrol Trooper Heather Axtman told The Bellingham Herald.
“Obviously, she was determined not to stop to whatever end and willing to take lives in the process,” Axtman said. “Thankfully, that did not happen, and we got her into custody.”
The Washington State Patrol booked Rachelle Marie Gallo, 31, into Whatcom County Jail Saturday, Aug. 15, on suspicion of a number of charges, including attempted first-degree assault, attempting to elude police vehicles, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and unlawful imprisonment. Jail records show she is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
The incident began at approximately 3 a.m. when Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to stop a green Honda Civic driven by Gallo in the 7000 block of Dahlberg Road in Ferndale for multiple traffic violations, sheriff’s office spokesperson Deb Slater told The Herald in an email.
Rather than stop, Gallo attempted to speed off, Slater reported.
The state patrol learned that the sheriff’s office broke off the pursuit at 3:18 a.m. near Main Street in Ferndale, Axtman said, but troopers picked it up again two minutes later on Interstate 5 near the Bakerview exit in Bellingham going 91 mph.
With the state patrol behind her, Gallo increased her speed to 95 mph, before exiting at Sunset Drive, heading west, blowing through a stoplight at Illinois Street and Cornwall Avenue and then came to a stop near Cornwall Park at approximately 3:25 a.m., Axtman said.
It was then that a male passenger in the Civic got out of the car, Axtman said, and reported to law enforcement that Gallo was the driver and that she had a dog that could be vicious in the car with her.
The man was later identified as having a no-contact order against Gallo out of Mount Vernon, Axtman said. Deputies also learned that Gallo had restrained him against his will in the car, Slater reported.
With the man out of the car, Gallo threw the Civic in reverse and nearly struck a state trooper who had exited his patrol vehicle, Axtman said. The trooper managed to get out of the way before being hit.
Gallo then sped off again at speeds reaching 60 mph along Cornwall Avenue and Alabama Street, running more red lights in the process, Axtman said, before she got back on I-5 at Iowa Street.
A deputy placed a spike strip across the freeway near the Sunset exit, which was successful in getting Gallo to stop near the Meridian Street offramp, Axtman said.
Gallo then ignored law enforcement’s commands to exit the car, before a sheriff’s office negotiator finally persuaded Gallo to crawl out of a window and she was taken into custody at 3:59 a.m., Axtman said.
