Hit-And-Run Motorist Tries to Escape by Driving IN Irrigation Canal

Luckily for the driver, the canals are empty this time of year.

Around 4:22AM Sunday morning Deputies got a call about a car hitting another vehicle near Benton City. Benton County Deputies were able to locate the suspect vehicle a few miles away, traveling on the Old Inland Empire Highway.

However, the male driver, whose name was not released, refused to stop. Eventually spike strips were used to blow out the tires but the driver kept going. Near Prosser, the driver veered off the road, and down into the empty main irrigation feeder canal, where he proceeded to drive for at least a mile or two before he finally came across a spillway that blocked his progress, and then his car finally died.

The driver was apprehended for suspected DUI and a litany of other charges, and a search of his car turned up what Deputies say is likely meth. It's headed off for testing, and the driver is in the Benton County jail. No one was injured, and amazingly, no property damaged during the pursuit.