Woman sentenced for stealing school bus, crashing it into police car during chase

BLAINE, Wash. (AP) — An Everett woman will spend a year in prison for stealing an empty school bus in Stanwood and driving it north to Blaine before crashing it into a patrol car, then trying to swim away from police in the Blaine harbor.

The Bellingham Herald reports that Elizabeth Jane Ray was sentenced Thursday.

She was originally charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, two other felonies and misdemeanor hit and run. She pleaded guilty to reduced charges of third-degree assault, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude police.

Prosecutors say Ray stole a Stanwood-Camano Island School District bus May 1 and drove away. When officers spotted it, Ray rammed a Blaine patrol car and headed away. She crashed the bus, jumped out and ran into the water.