You know you love your job when you can’t be bothered to pull over for the police, for fear you might be late for work.
One Ohio woman was sentenced to considerable prison time and a 15-year driving ban last week, after a very dangerous stunt she pulled earlier this year, when she tried to elude the police. In the process, she slammed 3 patrol cruisers, drove recklessly at 80 mph and wrecked her own car when she was forced into a ditch.
Imani C. Edwards, 23, was driving her Chrysler Pacifica on the highway outside of Cleveland when a patrol SUV summoned her to pull over. The officer later reported that she had tinted windows and a fake license plate, so he engaged in a pursuit when she would not comply.
Video of the high-speed, insane chase was played in court last week, during sentencing, Fox 31 KDVR reports. You can also find it at the bottom of the page, if you have about half an hour to spare for some real-life action.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Shaughnessy was shocked at the way Edwards conducted herself, refusing to pull over and putting a lot of people’s lives at risk. He also told her that a video as “egregious” as this one he was yet to see, and then sentenced her to 4 years and 9 months in prison. He also suspended her license for 15 years and ordered her to pay $26,000 in restitution for the damage caused to the police cars.
Edwards was charged with a series of first-degree felonies, including refusal to comply and assault. When the police finally caught her, she told them she’d refused to stop because she was late for work.
“I don’t know what you were thinking,” Judge Shaughnessy told her. “At a time when law enforcement is under such scrutiny, your lawyer is right, they showed incredible restraint. And they should be commended. You jeopardized not only their safety – you almost ran over the officer – but the safety of the community and your own safety.”
To Edwards’ credit, despite fleeing from the police, weaving in and out of traffic, and driving recklessly, not once did she forget to signal a turn. Small wonders, we guess.
Imani C. Edwards, 23, was driving her Chrysler Pacifica on the highway outside of Cleveland when a patrol SUV summoned her to pull over. The officer later reported that she had tinted windows and a fake license plate, so he engaged in a pursuit when she would not comply.
Video of the high-speed, insane chase was played in court last week, during sentencing, Fox 31 KDVR reports. You can also find it at the bottom of the page, if you have about half an hour to spare for some real-life action.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Shaughnessy was shocked at the way Edwards conducted herself, refusing to pull over and putting a lot of people’s lives at risk. He also told her that a video as “egregious” as this one he was yet to see, and then sentenced her to 4 years and 9 months in prison. He also suspended her license for 15 years and ordered her to pay $26,000 in restitution for the damage caused to the police cars.
Edwards was charged with a series of first-degree felonies, including refusal to comply and assault. When the police finally caught her, she told them she’d refused to stop because she was late for work.
“I don’t know what you were thinking,” Judge Shaughnessy told her. “At a time when law enforcement is under such scrutiny, your lawyer is right, they showed incredible restraint. And they should be commended. You jeopardized not only their safety – you almost ran over the officer – but the safety of the community and your own safety.”
To Edwards’ credit, despite fleeing from the police, weaving in and out of traffic, and driving recklessly, not once did she forget to signal a turn. Small wonders, we guess.