The driver of a vehicle that fled from police at speeds up to 135 mph on northbound Interstate 5 in Lewis and Thurston counties before crashing in Thurston County on Saturday is now facing charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
Ray Anthony Lavoll, 23, of Bellevue, was charged Monday, March 31, with one count each of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, DUI, reckless driving, obstructing a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Lavoll was booked into the Lewis County Jail on Saturday after he was evaluated at a hospital, but he posted $50,000 bail prior to his preliminary hearing on Monday.
He was present out of custody for his hearing.
“Mr. Lavoll was here incredibly early. He’s here with family. He has good support,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said Monday.
“The facts of this case are pretty egregious,” said Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello during Lavoll’s preliminary hearing, where he asked for Lavoll’s bail to be raised to $100,000 due to community safety concerns and the fact that Lavoll has pending cases in two other courts, one in Washington and one in Oregon, for driving-related offenses.
“This just appears to be a continuation of poor driving that endangers the public,” Masiello said.
Lavoll is accused of driving a gray SUV at a speed of 102 mph in a 70 mph zone on northbound I-5 near Labree Road at approximately 2:42 a.m. on March 29, according to court documents.
A Washington State Patrol trooper reportedly saw the vehicle making “erratic, jerking lane changes from the left lane through the center and into the right lane,” driving to the end of the exit-only lane to Exit 76 before cutting over to the left lane and continuing to speed up and pass traffic.
The trooper reportedly clocked the SUV traveling 120 mph in a 60 mph zone, at which point the trooper initiated a traffic stop.
“The vehicle then sped up, failed to pull over and attempted to evade the police vehicle,” according to court documents.
The vehicle reportedly continued to drive erratically at high speeds on northbound I-5, to the point where the trooper requested aircraft surveillance to monitor the vehicle.
The vehicle reportedly nearly exited several times and did take Exit 88, but continued through the intersection and got back onto northbound I-5.
Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to stop the vehicle with a spike strip at milepost 92, but the vehicle “drove onto the right shoulder to avoid the spikes” and continued passing traffic at speeds up to 135 mph, according to court documents.
The vehicle began exiting near Maytown, but cut across the gore point and nearly struck a semi-trailer as it got back onto northbound I-5, according to court documents.
The vehicle did exit at milepost 99, driving toward Center Street in Tumwater at speeds between 95 and 105 mph.
“Another spike strip was deployed but was unsuccessful,” according to court documents.
The vehicle got back onto northbound I-5 at Tumwater Boulevard and continued speeding and driving erratically up to milepost 105, when the vehicle took the Sleater-Kinney exit ramp with several law enforcement vehicles behind it and crashed while trying to get back onto the I-5 onramp.
“It launched off the elevated embankment, rolled and came to risk in a ditch,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in charging documents.
Lavoll allegedly refused commands to exit the vehicle after the crash, with the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office noting that “several deputies had to overpower Lavoll to successfully extract and cuff him.”
A passenger in the vehicle advised law enforcement “she had been asleep and awoke when Lavoll struck a jersey barrier,” according to court documents. She said she “saw police cars with lights and sirens behind them” and said “she was scared for her life.” She reported that “she was sending text messages to someone about how scared she was and sent ‘help’ several times,” according to court documents.
Lavoll reportedly exhibited signs of being under the influence of alcohol and cannabis when deputies arrested him.
He was allegedly hostile toward deputies and troopers when he was transported to a local hospital for an injury evaluation and a blood draw. He allegedly tried to kick a trooper who tried to take Lavoll’s photo and allegedly attempted to delay the blood draw by remaining in the bathroom for 30 minutes before law enforcement personnel forced him out.
“This is one of the worst eludings I’ve seen in this area,” Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager said to Lavoll during his hearing on Monday. “You’ve put our community in significant danger. But you’ve also posted significant bail.”
Yeager opted to allow Lavoll to remain out of custody on the bail he already posted, but she added electronic home monitoring as a pretrial condition of his release.
Yeager also added a provision prohibiting Lavoll from operating a motor vehicle until his case is resolved.
“You are not to drive a motor vehicle. You are not even to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while your case is pending,” Yeager said to Lavoll, adding that, based on his young age and a growing pattern of driving-related criminal charges, “It appears you are extremely dangerous behind the wheel.”
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, April 10.
