WOMAN ALLEGEDLY SMOKES CRACK AFTER PURSUIT

OCALA - A woman in a stolen car led deputies on a high-speed chase
Wednesday down the wrong side of the highway, weaving through traffic
and slamming on brakes, and then began smoking crack cocaine as
officers tried to apprehend her, deputies said.

According to an incident report from the Marion County Sheriff's
Office, a passenger also fell out of the blue 2007 Dodge Neon during
the chase which reached a speed of 120 mph.

The woman, 39, of Williston, was arrested and charged with battery on
a law enforcement officer, grand theft auto, fleeing and several
counts of drug possession. She was being held Thursday in the Marion
County Jail in lieu of $33,500 bail.

The Sheriff's Office received a report on the stolen car Saturday.
Monty Hall, 58, said the woman, who is his girlfriend's daughter,
took his car without permission.

According to an incident report, Deputy Daniel Bowen saw the car in
an area known for drugs at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. It had no tag
light, and Bowen made a traffic stop in the 1400 block of Northeast
175th Street Road.

The woman was driving with two male passengers. Both men got out
against the deputy's orders, while the woman still had the car in
gear. One man got back in the car, leaving the door open, and the
woman sped off.

Bowen pursued the car, and as it crossed a yard, the man fell out.
The pursuit continued onto U.S. 301, where the woman drove north in
the southbound lanes at speeds up to 120 mph.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Sue Livoti said the woman attempted to
outmaneuver the deputy by weaving through traffic - barely missing
oncoming vehicles and semitrailers. She also began braking
erratically, causing the officer to rear-end her car.

Livoti said that after about 10 miles the woman pulled into a gas
station on County Road 326, where Bowen reportedly saw her smoking
crack cocaine through a glass pipe in the parked car.

Other drugs were found and the woman was taken into custody.