A Tacoma man with four prior DUIs was arrested early Sunday after driving the wrong way on state Route 7 in Spanaway and hitting three vehicles, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers were called to the area where SR 7 intersections with state Route 507 about 12:30 a.m. after several people called 911 to report a wrong-way driver.

The 34-year-old man was arrested without incident.

The man was driving south in the northbound lanes of SR 7 and struck two cars near 176^th Street, trooper Guy Gill said. The man continued driving and then struck another vehicle head-on near …

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Nearly 200 drunken drivers were arrested in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties over Cinco de Mayo weekend, the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force announced today.

More than 70 law enforcement officers from 33 agencies participated in Target Zero patrols Friday and Saturday nights and arrested 187 people. They targeted streets where alcohol-related accidents have occurred in recent years in Tacoma, Federal Way, Kent, Auburn, Renton, Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Lynnwood and Marysville.

In addition to increased patrols, officers visited bars to ensure responsible service and passed out Clickit 2 Ride cards, which can be scanned with a cell …

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The principal of Gig Harbor High School pleaded not guilty today to misdemeanor DUI and hit-and-run stemming from a crash on Fox Island last month.

Ted Strong, 42, remains free on his personal recognizance following his arraignment in Pierce County District Court.

Strong, who is on leave from his job, was arrested March 20 after Gig Harbor police were notified of a hit-and-run near 14^th Avenue and Mowtish Drive.

Another driver reported a car that had been tailgating him smashed into the rear of his vehicle when he pulled over to let it pass about 11:50 a.m.

The man got …

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The Washington State Patrol has arrested more than 1,000 impaired drivers in Pierce and Thurston counties since the beginning of the year.

As of Tuesday, troopers had taken into custody 1,009 drivers believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Last year’s arrests for the same time period were about the same.

“Removing a drunk driver could be saving their life or the life of somebody else,” said trooper Guy Gill.

A multi-agency DUI task force stopped 288 drivers who were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day a bit too enthusiastically this year.

About half those drivers were arrested for driving under the influence. The other half, who didn’t meet the legal definition of being impaired, were issued warnings, said the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force.

In addition to their DUI arrests, those drivers were ticketed for a variety of other offenses including speeding, negligent driving, violating driver’s license restrictions, driving while their license was suspended or without insurance or without wearing a seat belt.

Police, deputies and state troopers …

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Three people were injured early Sunday when a car struck a disabled vehicle on Interstate 5 near Delin Street in Tacoma.

The Washington State Patrol says a 2001 Mercury Cougar headed southbound on I-5 hit a 1997 Dodge Caravan that was disabled on the right shoulder of the freeway. The crash was reported at 4:42 a.m.

Three passengers in the van – a 41-year-old man from Seattle, a 33-year-old man from Federal Way and a 36-year-old woman from Tukwila – were injured and taken to Tacoma General Hospital for treatment. Two other people in the van were not injured. …

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Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 23-year-old man with vehicular homicide in a crash on Canyon Road that killed his friend last year.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Christopher Stuart Doty. He’s also charged with operating a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.

Sheriff’s deputies contend Doty was at the wheel of a blue Oldsmobile Ciera that crashed in the 18500 block of Canyon Road about 9 p.m. on Oct. 1.

The sole passenger in the car, Dylan T. Duff, 25, died in the wreck.

Witnesses told deputies they saw the Ciera “riding the bumper” of a …

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Tacoma police arrested a man late Thursday after he twice fled from officers trying to stop him on suspicion of drunken driving.

Officers first spotted the man speeding in the 5400 block of South Tacoma Way just after 10:50 p.m., Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

When officers turned on their emergency lights to stop the car, the man sped off. Officers noted the car’s license plate but did not start pursuing the man, Fulghum said.

“The way he was driving was not safe,” Fulghum said.

The officers broadcast the vehicle’s information to others working Thursday night.

Minutes later, officers …

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