A Lakeland woman is facing multiple felony charges after a crash on Interstate 275 in Tampa ended in a violent arrest.
A M, 23, was involved in a reported hit-and-run crash on southbound I-275 at around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 4.
The Florida Highway Patrol responded to the crash, and troopers arrived to find a Toyota RAV4 with damage to its back-left side and a Ford Fusion with heavy front-end damage. The driver of the Toyota was not injured.
Witnesses said the Ford was traveling at very high speeds and was weaving in and out of traffic, according to a report from FHP.
Officers later found a half-full bottle of tequila in the passenger seat of her car, and the report said troopers could smell alcohol on her. The results of her blood alcohol test were pending at the time of this report.
M told one of the troopers that the other vehicle had cut her off, causing her to collide with it and lose control of her car.
As the officers tried to speak with her, she became increasingly distressed, and at one point began walking toward active lanes of traffic “in an aggressive manner.”
Troopers tried to hold her back, but she fought back, striking the officers and cutting one of their hands. She continued resisting and was tased twice before troopers were able to detain her in the back of a patrol car.
M, still resisting, needed to be restrained to a stretcher to allow EMS to evaluate her for injuries. She was taken to the hospital, and a Baker Act was placed due to the threats she made against her life.
Later that day, she was booked into the Falkenburg Road Jail and charged with three counts of resisting an officer with violence, two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, and reckless driving.
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Source: wfla
