A high-speed pursuit just ended in a car crash and foot chase in front of the Gates Foundation on Eastlake. I live across the street and watched as a boy and a girl (seriously, they couldn’t have been older than 16) drove their car (stolen?) to the street just north of the Foundation where they crashed into a BMW, jumped out of the car, and ran south on Eastlake Avenue. In pursuit on foot was a Seattle Police officer, a Medina police officer, and a Washington State trooper. The suspects ran out of steam once they got to the Washington State Employees Credit Union parking lot. (As a side note, this doesn’t speak well of our school P.E. programs - it was only about a 60 yard sprint and these two height/weight proportioned teens fell down in a heaving mess. I’d like to think if I was being chased by three different police agencies that I could at least last a couple hundred yards on adrenaline alone.) Anyway, it’s probably a good thing they pooped out because no less than 12 police vehicles converged on the scene in rapid order shutting down Eastlake in both directions for about 15 minutes.

The police walked the young girl north on Eastlake Ave. in front of two buildings full of people on their balconies watching the action. Many insults (okay, three) were dispersed and much laughter ensued.

It’s funny (or whatever) that the Medina police chased a couple teens right to the doorstep of the Gates Foundation. Were these kids trying to tell us something? Did they have a plan? Was this a political/social message? The movie reel that plays in my mind tells me yes. The boring reality of a couple kids on a joyride in a stolen car tells me no.