Source The Charlotte Observer
Three people died and another was critically injured when a woman drove off in a deputy’s patrol car and crashed it while traveling at speeds of 100 mph, according to Florida investigators.
Among the dead is the suspect, Kendra Boone, who is accused of taking the patrol car at a Silver Springs shopping center, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Silver Springs is about 85 miles northwest of Orlando.
It happened around 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, after a deputy responded to reports of a woman attempting to take a driver’s car keys, officials said.
“When (the deputy) arrived on scene, he made contact with Boone,” officials said. “After (the deputy) exited his patrol vehicle, Boone entered the patrol vehicle through the passenger side (window) and climbed into the driver’s seat.”
The deputy “immediately attempted to remove Boone from the patrol vehicle, but she fled at a high rate of speed,”officials said.
Video shared by the sheriff’s office shows the deputy was hanging onto the driver’s side door as the vehicle sped away. Another patrol car was nearby and is seen following Boone almost as soon as she drove out of the parking lot.
Boone drove “several miles” on East Highway 40 before making a U-turn and driving west into the path of deputies waiting with “stop sticks” designed to puncture the vehicle’s tires, the sheriff’s office said.
“However, before reaching the area of the stop stick deployment, Boone performed another U-turn and began to flee back eastbound on East Highway 40,” the sheriff’s office said.
The vehicle “was traveling well over 100 mph and driving erratically” when Boone drove onto the right shoulder to pass a semi-truck, officials said.
“As she reentered the roadway at excessive speeds, she lost control of the stolen vehicle, entered into the oncoming lane of traffic, and collided with a black pickup truck,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Deputies arrived at the scene of the crash (and) discovered that Boone and three occupants of the truck were unresponsive. Boone and two occupants of the truck were pronounced deceased on scene and the third was transported to a local hospital in critical condition,” officials said.
Identities of the three people in the GMC pickup were not released, but the dead included a 73-year-old man and 72-year-old woman, both from Waterloo, the Florida Highway Patrol reports. The critically injured passenger was a male, but no other details were released. He was taken to a hospital in Ocala, officials said.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said the deputy involved was not injured.
“Now, I want to make something right off the bat abundantly clear,” Woods said at a press conference.
“My deputy did absolutely nothing wrong.”
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