A meth-fueled maniac is behind bars after allegedly dragging a Washington state lieutenant from the driver’s seat of her patrol car on a Seattle freeway and speeding away in the stolen cruiser, police said.
Alexander Eugene Smith, 24, was cuffed after the brazen broad-daylight heist sparked a wild police chase that ended when authorities rammed into the hijacked squad car, bringing it to a halt on the busy Christmas Day highway just before noon, according to an arrest report obtained by KOMO News.
The victimized Washington State Patrol lieutenant found herself lying on the pavement of Interstate 5 after responding to reports that a man was casually wandering across the lanes around 11 a.m.
Jaw-dropping footage obtained by TMZ captured the drugged-up loon sauntering across the northbound highway lanes as cars whizzed by, pacing in the middle of the roadway as the gray police SUV arrived.
The crazed man then approached the marked patrol car with its lights flashing, swung open the driver’s door, yanked the high-ranking cop onto the roadway, and sped off as she frantically tugged at the locked door, the wild video showed.
Several troopers immediately pursued the commandeered cruiser that was tearing down Washington’s busiest highway at high-speed, before pinning the car into the shoulder and taking Smith into custody, according to the arrest report.
The lieutenant reportedly suffered minor injuries in the shameless carjacking, as multiple police cars were damaged trying to stop the fleeing driver.
Smith, initially refusing to identify himself, allegedly copped to smoking meth earlier in the day after cops found “two glass pipes with dark looking tar burned residue” on him at the chaotic scene, KOMO reported.
He was charged with robbery, suspicion of felony eluding, possession of a stolen vehicle, assault on a law enforcement officer, and driving under the influence.
The alleged thief refused to attend his arraignment Friday and is due back in court Saturday afternoon.
He is being held at the King County jail.
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