A high-speed police chase involving a stolen vehicle in Washington ended Saturday with a blazing crash on the other side of the Canadian border, according to Washington State Police (WSP).
The driver, Emil Abdullah Tunsel of California, allegedly stole a Hyundai Tuscon in Seattle, then fled when Washington state troopers attempted a traffic stop due to his erratic driving, according to a tweet by WSP public information officer Kelsey Harding. Tunsel then led the troopers on a chase at speeds of up to 115 mph, crossing the border into Surrey, British Columbia, before crashing his car into another vehicle, causing it to burst into flames, according to the tweet.
Canadian outlet CTV News cited a statement from the RCMP, which reported that Tunsel only “clipped” the other vehicle and that his car caught fire after “it went off the road.”
🚨 Photos of the stolen Hyundai that fled Whatcom County Troopers into Canada pic.twitter.com/tPttYeunjF
— Trooper Kelsey Harding (@wspd7pio) July 23, 2023
Tunsel escaped the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot and even tried to fight off the Royal Canadian Mounted Police before being tased, tackled and arrested, according to Harding’s tweet. He was taken to a hospital in British Columbia for his injuries, the trooper added. (RELATED: Woman Survives After 18-Wheeler Flattens Car)
No information has been provided on the driver of the other vehicle, due to the crash taking place in Canada, Harding reported.
Tunsel was returned to the U.S., booked at the Whatcom County jail in Washington and charged with suspicion of operating without a license, second-degree theft of a motor vehicle and attempting to allude the police Sunday, per Harding’s tweet.