High Speed Police Chase Results in Fatal Crash in Moses Lake

A man is dead after a police pursuit in Moses Lake Wednesday morning. 

Washington State Patrol says the crash happened at approximately 4:45 a.m. in the 3300 block of W. Lakeshore Dr. The driver of an unknown vehicle attempted to elude Moses Lake police and Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies and failed to negotiate a curve to the left. The vehicle went off the roadway and struck a power pole. The man died at the scene. 

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The chase stems from a call to the sheriff’s office around 4:30 a.m. as deputies responded to a report of a robbery and assault in the 4900 block of Road L. 9-Northeast. A woman stated two women, identified as 36-year-old Champagne Garza and 30-year-old Becky Avalos, allegedly beat her and a man pistol-whipped her and held her against her will for about two hours. The victim provided fake names of her assailants and told investigators the man and two women left in a vehicle.  

Deputies discovered the legal names of the assailants after they visited the home. Moments later, a deputy spotted one of those vehicles in the drive-through at a fast food restaurant on Wheeler Road in Moses Lake.  

Deputies and MLPD stopped the car on Third Avenue and two women surrendered with deputies taking them into custody without further incident.  

The man in the back seat jumped into the driver’s seat and took off. He led deputies and MLPD on a high-speed chase. The crash occurred just south of the I-90 overpass and rammed through a fence and struck the pole. The man died at the scene.  

Grant County Sheriff’s Office will share the man’s identity after the Grant County Coroner’s Office releases it.  

Garza and Avalos are both in the Grant County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery and unlawful imprisonment.  

Washington State Patrol continues to investigate the crash while Grant County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the crimes.