Rochester woman arrested after ramming squad cars, fleeing officers

Emily Cutts, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Oct. 28—A 34-year-old Rochester woman was arrested Wednesday night after police say she rammed two police cars, led officers on a pursuit and eventually disabled her vehicle while avoiding a crash with a truck in Northwest Rochester.

The incident began about 9:40 p.m. Wednesday when an officer learned a woman wanted for fleeing police on Oct. 20 was at the Holiday gas station in the 400 block of Fourth Street Southeast, according to Rochester police Capt. Casey Moilanen.

An officer pulled into the station and parked in front of the woman's vehicle so she was unable to flee again. As the officer approached her and told her she was under arrest for the Oct. 20 incident, the woman reportedly started ramming the officer's squad car as well as a second squad that arrived.

The woman was able to make her way out of the parking lot and flee southbound on Fourth Avenue Southeast, according to Moilanen. Officers followed her and attempted to make a traffic stop, but she did not pull over. In the area of Salem Road and Salem Point Drive, officers tried to force her to stop using a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuver, which involves tapping the rear of a vehicle, causing it to spin and ultimately come to a stop.

Moilanen said the woman's vehicle was briefly disabled, but she was able to drive away again and headed north on West Circle Drive. While northbound on West Circle Drive in the area of U.S. Highway 14, the woman swerved to avoid a collision with a truck and in doing so, spun out of control and became stuck, Moilanen said.

Officers were then able to approach the woman, who was in her vehicle with the doors locked and windows closed. Moilanen said the woman looked unconscious and appeared she was having a seizure. Officers broke her window to get her out of the car. Officers administered Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal drug, and were able to revive the woman. She was taken by ambulance to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys for evaluation.

The woman, identified as 34-year-old Andrea Wallace, could face charges of first-degree damage to property, fleeing an officer in a vehicle and fifth-degree controlled substance crime as well as a number of traffic infractions. Charges had not been filed in Olmsted County District Court as of 10:15 a.m. Thursday.