Man arrested after chase ends at Tacoma casino

A police chase that started Wednesday morning near Kent and ended at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma resulted in one arrest and the seizure of drugs.

The pursuit started around 9:15 a.m., when a State Patrol trooper tried to stop a 23-year-old Lakewood, Pierce County, man near Highway 516 for speeding. The man swerved his Ford Explorer toward the motorcycle officer and kept driving south on Interstate 5, said State Patrol spokeswoman Brandy Kessler.

Kessler said the man drove across all lanes and onto the shoulder before leaving the freeway at 320th Street. The driver then headed back onto I-5 and almost struck a state Department of Transportation worker. A few miles down the freeway, the driver lost control of the vehicle, clipped a pickup and crashed in a ravine, Kessler said.

The man jumped out of the Explorer and ran into the casino, Kessler said. The driver was arrested for investigation of assault, eluding and drug possession after troopers found marijuana in his car, Kessler said.

Shoreline

College student dies in California crash

A 19-year-old international student from Shoreline Community College died Friday in a traffic accident in Northern California.

Cheuk-Yu Lam was driving to Southern California to visit family and tour UCLA when he lost control of his 1990 Ford Festiva at a curve on Interstate 5 near Willows, school officials said. He overcorrected, causing the car to roll over and eject him, officials said. He died about an hour after the crash.

California Highway Patrol officials said Lam wasn't wearing a seat belt.

Lam, who was originally from Hong Kong, was finishing up high-school requirements at Shoreline and planned to study film directing at a four-year college once he earned his transfer degree, said Shoreline Community College spokesman Jim Hills.

Lam started at Shoreline in January 2007. He was a senator in student government this past school year and was elected minister of communication for the coming school year.

Kelso

Man will go to prison for death of baby girl

A man who maintains he was innocent in the death of his baby daughter and injuries to her twin sister faces nearly 10 years in prison.

Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge James E. Warme on Tuesday sentenced 25-year-old Benjamin Shane Pingle, of Castle Rock, to nine years in prison. That's the top of the standard range for first-degree manslaughter.

On May 30 a jury rejected a second-degree-murder charge but convicted Pingle of manslaughter in the severe shaking of his 12-week-old daughter Justice. He also was found guilty of third-degree assault for injuries to her twin sister, Liberty.

Seattle

Van pools popular as gas prices soar

Van pools are increasing in King County as a reaction to rising gasoline prices.

There are a record 1,058 van pools and van-sharing groups registered with Metro Transit, about 100 more than a year ago, the agency reports.

The figure includes 169 "vanshares," in which vehicles are based at a park-and-ride lot, train station or ferry dock, so people can ride them between the transit hub and either work or home.

Van-pool and car-pool information for Washington and Idaho can be found at www.rideshareonline.com.

Snoqualmie

Teachers threaten strike in September