Ontario, CAN - Handcuffed Woman Steals OPP Cruiser - Drove Into Oncoming Traffic - Crashed
Kitchener woman steals police cruiser while
cuffed
North Bay Nugget Sept. 1, 2008
A young Kitchener woman managed to give police the slip Monday afternoon
-- in their own cruiser.
Already under arrest for being in a vehicle believed to be stolen, the
29-year-old wiggled her way from the back seat of the cruiser, through a
partition and into the front seat.
She then proceeded to drive away -- all while handcuffed.
Well, partially handcuffed -- she'd managed to free one wrist.
Police say her ill-conceived escape in a marked police car equipped with GPS
tracking came to a crashing end on Highway 401 after she drove into oncoming
lanes and smashed into a guidewire near the far ditch.
Before it was all over, she managed to partially slip out of a second pair of
cuffs at the crash scene.
Clearly we'll review the incident," said Waterloo Regional Police Insp. Bryan
Larkin. By all accounts, everybody was doing what they needed to do."
The bizarre chain of events began at about 2 p. m. as traffic officers were
conducting speed enforcement.
They stopped a vehicle and determined the man driving was suspended and
that the vehicle was possibly stolen.
All four people in the vehicle were arrested and handcuffed as police tried
to sort things out and that's when the woman decided she didn't want to stick
around.
The cruiser she was in was running. That's not unusual, Larkin said,
especially if an officer leaves the air conditioning or heating on if someone is
in the back seat.
As the cruiser drove off, other regional and Ontario Provincial Police officers
were called.
Officers at the scene didn't pursue the cruiser because they had the three
others under arrest to deal with, and they knew that GPS would keep tabs on the
car, Larkin said.
The woman is facing a host of charges including impaired driving, theft over
$5,000, and escaping lawful custody.