BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A man who appeared to be experiencing a mental health or drug-induced episode was arrested Friday after leading sheriff’s deputies up I-5 and down county roads.
When deputies responded to reports of a vehicle parked in the middle of Lange Road blocking traffic, they found 43-year-old John Ashton of Bellingham sitting behind the wheel with the vehicle still running.
Ashton refused to get out of the vehicle and instead sped off.
Deputies followed and observed Ashton from a distance as he threw large ignited fireworks out of his truck while driving.
Ashton eventually crashed into a ditch at Kickerville and Loomis Trail Road.
He fled on foot but was found hiding nearby and was taken into custody.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Ashton in July after he failed to appear for a court hearing stemming from an incident in April in which he was accused of trying to run over another man with his truck.
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