No one yet knows what a 75-year-old woman in Oregon was driving away from at 112 mph, but it took cops seven spike strips and more interventions to finally stop her.
The woman was clocked by police, driving 112 mph, which led to a chase on I-5 South near Merlin, Oregon.
The chase occurred right before midnight on Friday night. The driver was identified as Elizabeth Katherine Essex.
At first, deputies tried to pull the car over, but Essex wouldn’t stop, which led to the pursuit of her vehicle. She crossed the county line and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department took over.
Deputies placed spike strips seven times on the road to stop the woman, but she continued driving even after her tires were shredded.
She was eventually stopped after cops used a technique known as a PIT maneuver. The deputy pulls up behind the pursued car, and when the speed of the car and the police car match, the police car bumps the fleeing car, and by maneuvering the patrol vehicle’s steering wheel, the officer can force the other driver to stop.
The maneuver was initially used in race-car driving but is now employed by police departments in extreme circumstances.
The Fairfax County, Virginia Police Department was the first to modify the technique for law enforcement use and named the maneuver “Precision Immobilization Technique,” or PIT.
The woman was not injured but was taken into custody and charged with reckless driving and eluding an officer.
It remains to be seen what set her off to do such a stunt, causing her to drive 17 miles without tires.