A dramatic high speed chase through a local neighborhood ended when the woman's car crashed into a Belleview (FL) home.
Marion County deputies and Ashley Roe, wanted on DUI charges, reached speed close to 80 mph, until Roe's car crashed into a house. The Marion County Sheriff's Office is defending deputies' actions, while agreeing to pay for the damage.
Larry Oehlar said the crash jolted him from bed at 2:30 a.m. "We heard the sirens in the distance," said Oehlar. On board dashcam video showed Marion County sheriff's deputies try to pull over Roe's car heading into Belleview. Investigators said Roe is swerving over the lines for miles, passing cars, topping 78 miles per hour, then suddenly breaking. She jumped a curb into a gas station parking lot, and deputies thought she's pulling over, but she sped off, blowing through a stop sign in a local neighborhood.
Investigators said Roe overcorrects, hits a tree, then crashes into the front of Oehlar's rental home. "It was like a hurricane roar, then crash. Horrifying," said Oehlar. Oehlar said he watched as Roe refused to get out of the car. "She lights up a cigarette, says her finger hurts, and smokes a cigarette," Oehlar said.
On the video, a deputy is heard yelling at Roe, "Put out the cigarette and get out of the car now! I'm not playing with you!" Firefighters had to use the jaws of life to get Roe out of the car. The Sheriff's Office said it is standing behind the deputies' actions and the county's insurance is paying for the damage. "I was just thankful it didn't go through my house and hurt anyone in my family," Oehlar said. Deputies said when Roe got to the hospital, she punched and kicked a deputy and bit him in the hand. Detectives said they also found marijuana in Roe's bra.
