Officers responded to a reckless driver call in the East Central neighborhood in which the driver was possibly armed. The suspect vehicle ended up causing a collision and the driver tried to run away from the scene on foot. The driver, identified as 35 year old Richard Urbanski, was found and eventually booked into the Spokane County Jail on several charges.
On 03/16/2021, at about 1:49 P.M. Officers received a report of a reckless driver in the area of 1800 block of East Cataldo Avenue. The caller advised his neighbor was either high or intoxicated and sped away going eastbound on Cataldo.
Officers caught up to the vehicle in the area of Freya Street and Desmet Avenue. Officers activated their emergency lights and sirens in attempts to stop the vehicle but the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed. Once the vehicle took off, Officers turned their lights and sirens off and did not pursue the vehicle.
A short time later, Officers came up to a collision at the intersection of Trent Avenue and Mission Avenue. The vehicle that had ran from the traffic stop was involved in the collision. The driver of that vehicle, identified as 35 year old Richard Urbanski, saw Officers arrive and began to run from the scene. Officers were able to catch up to Richard and take him into custody without further incident. While making contact with Richard, he exhibited signs of impairment.
Original reports did mention Richard may have a gun. A gun was located on Richard but it was not real.
Fortunately nobody was seriously injured in the collision. Richard was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries. Once Richard is released from the hospital, he will be booked into the Spokane County Jail for attempt to elude a police vehicle, DUI, 2 counts of hit and run, and driving on a suspended license.
Sgt. Michael Huffman
Swing Shift Patrol Supervisor
Team Public Information Officer