PORT ANGELES — A convicted drug felon wanted for investigation of a probation violation led police on a half-mile vehicle chase Wednesday night south of downtown Port Angeles, authorities said.
The chase at 9 p.m. reached speeds of 50 mph in a 20 mph zone on 13th between Oak and Cherry streets, Deputy Police Chief Jason Viada said Thursday.
Renee Lou Ann Roening, 26, of Port Angeles was charged Thursday in Clallam County Superior Court with felony attempt-to-elude a pursuing police vehicle and hit-and-run.
Bail was set at $5,000. Her arraignment is 9 a.m. June 29.
The circular chase began and ended on Lauridsen Boulevard near Super Saver Foods.
During the pursuit Roening ran over a cherry tree, according to court documents.
She was arrested without incident, and no injuries were reported, including to her dog, which was in the vehicle, Viada said.
Officer Luke Brown said in a probable cause statement that he began pursuing Roening’s white 2006 Volvo after he paced it going 48 mph in a 30-mph zone on Lauridsen at the grocery store.
After Brown activated his siren and emergency lights, the vehicle accelerated, turning off Lauridsen, onto West 15th Street and north onto Cherry Street.
It left the roadway on Cherry and went through the grass, onto a sidewalk and into a private yard, running over the tree before returning to the street and going down the center of the northbound and southbound lanes of Cherry.
It turned east on 13th Street, hitting speeds of 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, then south on Oak Street to Lauridsen.
Back on Lauridsen, Roening slammed on her brakes and came to a complete stop, Brown said.
As she got out of the vehicle, Roening yelled at Brown that she had a dog, ignoring Brown’s command to get on the ground before complying, he said.
Brown questioned her.
“I asked Roening why she fled from me, and Roening told me that she had a [state Department of Corrections] warrant and ‘freaked out,’ ” he said.
“I asked Roening why she got so scared, and she told me that she was concerned about her dog.”
Roening told Brown she had been on her way to her mother’s house “just down the block” on West 14th Street, Brown said.
Roening was convicted in a Clallam County Superior Court bench trial in July 23, 2015, of delivery of a controlled substance — 3.8 grams of heroin — within 1,000 feet of a school bus-route stop.
Judge Erik Rohrer sentenced Roening to 20 months of incarceration and 20 months of community custody.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@ peninsuladailynews.com.
