Wild car chase ends with driver throwing rubber snake at deputy, Florida officials say

A Florida car chase took a series of odd turns when the driver crashed into two law enforcement vehicles, then emerged from her vehicle to throw a “snake” at a deputy, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

Closer inspection revealed the gray and black serpent was actually made of rubber, investigators say.

It happened May 18 in Martin County’s Indiantown area, and began when a 54-year-old woman refused to pull over for a traffic stop. Indiantown is about 37 miles northwest of West Palm Beach.

The resulting chase reached speeds of up to 100 mph and included the driver “intentionally hitting” a sheriff’s deputy’s motorcycle, officials said.

“The MCSO deputy on the motorcycle was able to jump off of the bike before being struck. (The driver) then sped off,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.

“She was located by two other road units heading into Indiantown. While driving, she motioned to the deputies that she had a gun, and drove erratically trying to cause them to crash. She did smash into one patrol car,” the sheriff’s office said.

The driver sped away yet again, this time causing “a rollover crash” involving a pickup with three people inside, officials said.

“Deputies were able to get her stopped. When they approached the vehicle to arrest her, she threw a snake at the deputy, causing him to deploy his taser,” officials said.

“She was taken into custody. Afterwards, (a) deputy located that snake and found it to be rubber.“

The three people in the pickup were taken to a hospital “with non-life-(threatening) injuries.” The two deputies involved in collisions with the driver were not hurt, officials said.

The driver, a woman from Vero Beach, has been charged “with four counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and fleeing and eluding,” officials said.

This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Wild car chase ends with driver throwing rubber snake at deputy, Florida officials say."