Handcuffed Woman Accused of Stealing Police Car, Leading Cops on High-Speed Chase
— -- A police cruiser's dash-cam caught a handcuffed woman's alleged 10-mile high-speed drive outside Pittsburgh after she crawled through an opening in the police car's partition and took control of the wheel, police said.
Cops chased 27-year-old Roxanne Rimer, who drove down Route 51 as fast as 100 mph with her hands cuffed behind her back, Center Township Police Chief Barry Kramer told ABC News today.
"She probably was able to reach her cuffed hands to the side of her hip and drive," Kramer said. "I'm not completely sure though because there was no camera that captured the inside of the car. [Rimer] was very thin, long-armed and lanky, so it's possible she was flexible enough to reach over the side of her hip and grab the wheel."
The incident, which happened earlier this month, occurred when Rimer was originally arrested after trying to run away from security at Kohl's for allegedly stealing earrings, Kramer said. She fled into her grandfather's car in the parking lot, he said, and her grandfather, who was driving, was unaware of what happened moments before.
When police stopped the car, police asked Rimer to step out and she was handcuffed after a confrontation, Kramer said.
"She gave a fake name and told police she was a juvenile," Kramer said. "After being handcuffed and put in the rear seat [of the patrol car], police went to check her grandfather's car. It was during this time that Rimer somehow crawled through a roughly 12.25-inch by 11.5-inch window in the plexiglass partition."
The dash-cam video shows officers running toward the car after Rimer allegedly got control of the vehicle. The vehicle is then seen ramming into her grandfather's car with her grandfather still in it and almost hitting two police officers before zooming down the road.
"Police chased her for most of her 10-mile drive, but they backed off towards the end because she was going so fast," Kramer said.
The video shows the patrol car weaving between cars at high speeds. At one point, it seems Rimer has trouble getting around a bend in the road. And then a woman's voice can be heard in the video, allegedly Rimer's, calling out to a passerby, saying, "Hello! Can you help me? Can you help me drive, please?"
Rimer later stops the patrol car and gets out, police said.
"At this point in the video, you can see the suspect abandon the car, still handcuffed, and run into the woods," Kramer said. "She went into a nearby home, but they told her to get away. Shortly after, one driver saw her walking in handcuffs. He picked her up and brought her to the station, but she jumped out and fled again. Another driver picked her up, thinking she just needed help, but then told her to get out of the car after they saw the handcuffs."
Police finally caught her walking on a street in Aliquippa, a town on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, and she was placed in jail, Kramer said.
Rimer is facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, fleeing and eluding police and robbery.
The trial will likely be held sometime in May, Kramer told ABC News.
Rimer is currently being held at Beaver County Jail, according to her attorney, Steven Valsamidis.
Valsamidis told ABC News he believes many of the charges fit the video, but a portion involving aggravated assault does not.
"Aggravated assault means she intended or did cause serious bodily injury," he said. "But she didn't seriously injure or intend to seriously injure anyone. She just wanted to escape the situation."
"Thank God nobody was killed because that video is extraordinary," Valsamidis added.
