Woman Slips Handcuffs, Escapes in Officer’s car
The Birmingham News - Birmingham, AL
02/02/04 - By: Dawn Kent
A woman whom police say stole a Vestavia Hills patrol car during a traffic stop Monday night has been charged with first-degree theft of property; escape, leaving the scene of accident and property damage.
Police said Pamela Horne, 50, stole the car on Columbiana Road following her arrest on DUI and drug charges. After an officer handcuffed her and put her in the back of his car, she crawled through the sliding partition of the screen that separates the front and back seats.
She drove the car two or three miles south on Columbiana Road and collided with two vehicles before stopping in front of the Saturn dealership.
Vestavia Hills police Lt. Dan Rary said there were no injuries in the incident, and police have not estimated the damage to the police car Home was driving.
Rary said Horne has a "slight" stature, which allowed her to slip one hand out of the handcuffs and crawl through the partition, which was closed but not latched. The car was new, and the officer did not realize the partition could close without latching, Rary said.
Vestavia Hills police said Horne has no permanent address. She was transferred Tuesday to the Jefferson County Jail, where she was being held on bonds totaling more than $30,000.