Second try at maneuver stops fleeing Bend fugitive
First 'PIT Maneuver' proved unsuccessful
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- It took two tries, but a Deschutes County sheriff's deputy's use of a pursuit maneuver stopped a car beside the Bend Parkway late Monday afternoon so authorities could arrest the fugitive driver he'd spotted minutes earlier in a nearby parking lot.
The deputy was heading west on Pinebrook Boulevard, toward the Bend Parkway, when he spotted a white 2002 Pontiac trying to cross Pinebrook from the Albertsons parking lot toward Walmart, Sgt. William Bailey said.
The deputy recognized the driver as Suzette Delancey, 55, of Bend, and believed she had a suspended license and warrant for her arrest, Bailey said.
The deputy pulled into Albertsons, turned around and came up behind the woman's car. He initiated a traffic stop as she tried to cross Pinebrook Boulevard, but the woman continued through the Walmart parking lot at 10 to 15 mph, going past several empty parking spots, Bailey said.
The deputy turned on his siren as the two vehicles headed north on the South Highway 97 frontage road. When the woman turned left onto Badger Road, the deputy attempted a PIT (Pursuit Immobilization Technique) maneuver, a tactic in which a pursuing deputy can force a fleeing car to abruptly turn sideways, causing the driver to lose control and stop.
The first PIT attempt was unsuccessful, Bailey said, and the driver turned right to head north on the parkway and began to quickly accelerated. The deputy again used a PIT maneuver, from the car's passenger side, and this time he succeeded, causing the car to spin almost 180 degrees, hit a curb and come to rest in a dirt field east of the parkway.
The driver was quickly arrested and confirmed to be Delancey, who was taken to the jail and held without bail on a parole violation warrant, also facing new charges of attempting to elude a police officer and reckless driving.
The woman's car, which was towed from the scene, had a scuff on the right rear from the contact, while the deputy's patrol car had no apparent damage, Bailey said.
