On Friday, December 29, 2023, at 2:28 a.m., Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a request for assistance from Astoria Police Department in locating a reckless driver who took off from them after attempting a traffic stop.
Astoria police officers attempted to pull over a silver 2004 BMW for a traffic violation. However, the driver did not stop and drove towards the city of Warrenton, where Warrenton police officers observed the vehicle driving recklessly at 120 mph. The BMW was last seen heading east on Highway 26 south of Seaside.
Washington County deputies located the vehicle near the intersection of Highway 26 and Highway 47. Deputies got behind the BMW, and the driver took off again at a high speed.
Deputies ahead of the speeding BMW successfully used spike strips to slow down the BMW. The driver, later identified as 30-year-old Joshua Sckeetz of Vancouver, Washington, continued driving on flat tires while heading into the city of Banks. Deputies used a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) to stop the BMW before pinning it in with patrol cars.
As deputies were contacting Sckeetz, he began ingesting a powdered substance chased with Mountain Dew that was believed to be a powdered Fentanyl. Sckeetz was transported to a local hospital by ambulance.
Once released from the hospital, Sckeetz was lodged in the Washington County Jail for the following crimes:
- Unlawful possession of a controlled substance
- Felon in possession of a restricted weapon
- Recklessly endangering another person (two counts)
- Reckless driving
- Clark County warrants (two)
- Beaverton municipal court warrant
A passenger in the BMW, 30-year-old Savannah Lalonde, was lodged in jail for a warrant out of Skamania County, Washington. A second passenger was released at the scene.
