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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

This High And Handcuffed 18-Year-Old Girl Stole A Cop Car And Led A High Speed Chase

September 25th, 2012Top Story

This High And Handcuffed 18-Year-Old Girl Stole A Cop Car And Led A High Speed Chase

By Benjamin Preston

This High And Handcuffed 18-Year-Old Girl Stole A Cop Car And Led A High Speed ChaseWhat started as a routine traffic stop on I-70 just west of Denver turned into a 25-mile chase reaching speeds of up to 100 mph. But here's the catch: 18-Year-Old Shelby Figueroa stole the police SUV that pulled her over, while handcuffed, taking off down the interstate and evading several attempts by police to run her off the road.

They eventually caught her with "Tactical Vehicle Intervention," which is fancy cop talk for ramming. The SUV rolled over, and Figueroa is in the hospital now, facing multiple criminal charges.

The whole thing started out a bit rough, with Figueroa being "uncooperative" according to the Clear Creek Sheriff's Office. She hit the deputy's SUV with her car, but was placed in handcuffs and put in the back of the arresting officer's cruiser. Police said she appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

What came next was the wild part. Handcuffed and locked in the back of a Sheriff's truck, Figueroa managed to Houdini her way out of the cuffs and get out of the cage (although we don't know whether or not it was inadvertently left open or something). Jumping into the driver's seat, she took off on I-70, headed west with the lights flashing and the sirens wailing.

Several Colorado state troopers tried to force her off the road, but were unable to make her lose control of the truck. Officers called her "arrogant" in their radio chatter, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that she exhibited some pretty sharp driving skills here. Johnny Law also dumped spike strips on the tarmac, but they only punctured one of the fleeing girl's tires as she sped by (maybe police use self-inflating tires?).

When the ramming maneuvers finally worked, the SUV Figueroa was driving rolled over. Luckily, there wasn't much traffic at the time, so Figueroa was the only one injured. She's in the hospital now, and will be transferred to jail when she gets out.

She's been charged with attempted vehicular assault on a peace officer, vehicular eluding, aggravated motor vehicle theft, resisting arrest, driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, theft, and reckless driving. It would have been easier to just stay at the bar.

And here we thought this kind of thing only happened in Florida.

Photo credit: Clear Creek Sheriff's Office; Twitter

(Hat tip to McMike!)

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