August 8, 2012
MIAMI (AFP) - A woman set off a high-speed police chase worthy of a Hollywood action movie when she refused to stop after police caught her speeding because she was topless, police said Tuesday.
The driver told police "she was topless to surprise her boyfriend," a spokesman for the Marion County sheriff's office, in northern Florida, said.
According to the police report, the incident occurred Saturday when Mandy Ramsey was spotted by a patrol car zooming well above the speed limit on a county road.
The officer set off behind her, intending to pull her over in a routine traffic stop, which typically includes a ticket and a fine.
But Ramsey, far from stopping, hit the gas and tried to ditch her police tail with several abrupt changes of route -- blowing by a stop sign and clipping an oak tree before continuing on.
Several other patrol cars joined the chase and, when the dark-colored pickup truck dipped out of sight, so did a police helicopter.
The helicopter quickly located the truck at a house where Ramsey had finally stopped. Though the vehicle was registered to someone else -- boyfriend, James Woodard -- Ramsey admitted to police she had been driving, saying she hadn't wanted to stop while partially nude.
The 35-year-old was "charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement," police said, adding that she spent two nights in jail before being released Monday on $5,000 bond.
