POST FALLS - Linda Crabtree is a fan of the reality TV series "Cops," but from a safe distance.

Turns out Saturday was the Coeur d'Alene woman's shot at a cameo.

She and her daughter had just gotten onto westbound Interstate 90 at Fourth Street in Coeur d'Alene when lit-up police cars appeared out of nowhere in the rear-view mirror.

At the same moment, a red 2002 Chevy TrailBlazer driven by Thomas Scott Brown, 51, of Spokane, darted between the Toyota 4Runner they were in and a concrete barrier.

"My daughter was passing a car, and he could've easily sideswiped us and we probably would have rolled," Crabtree said. "I love to watch 'Cops,' but I never want to be in the middle of something like that again. It was the most frightening thing that's ever happened to me."

Brown was arrested near the Evergreen interchange along Interstate 90 in Spokane Valley after law enforcement spun out the TrailBlazer, which was slowed by flat tires caused by spike strips police had set near the state line. The suspect was tazed with a stun gun prior to being arrested and booked into Spokane County Jail.

Multiple vehicles, including those driven by the public and law enforcement, were damaged during the ordeal. Two law enforcement officers sustained minor injuries while responding.

"A white pickup had a red streak on its side (from being sideswiped)," Crabtree said. "This affected a lot of people."

Others had flat tires, presumably from running over vehicle debris from the chase, she said.

The chase started at 11:14 a.m. on eastbound Interstate 90 at Post Falls after a license plate recognition system alerted dispatchers about a stolen vehicle from Spokane.

Brown exited at Mullan Trail just east of Coeur d'Alene, then headed westbound back toward Spokane.

Post Falls police Chief Scot Haug said Brown had taken the TrailBlazer for a test drive with a saleswoman as it was for sale at a car lot in Spokane.

"He started to ask her questions that made her feel uncomfortable, so she had him pull over and she called her office to let them know she'd be awhile," Haug said. "When she got out of the car, he fled in the vehicle."