Woman arrested after 27-mile chase on three tyres

A woman from Beaverton, Oregon, drove 27 miles on only three tyres during a police chase late on Thursday night. A Washington County sheriff's deputy reported seeing a 1999 Volkswagen driving erratically, getting very close to other cars and making abrupt turns and stops for no reason at around 9.00pm. Concerned that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the deputy tried to pull over the car to investigate.



The driver, who deputies later identified as 43-year-old Jennifer Winklebleck, stopped but then suddenly sped off. She drove north and then headed west as deputies chased her. Another deputy laid down spike strips and flattened the Volkswagen's left front tyre. Winklebleck continued driving - for 27 miles - as her tyre and wheel began to disintegrate. Her car then started to leak fluids and emit sparks from the suspension and undercarriage.

Deputies said they were worried Winklebleck would injure someone if her car wasn't stopped, so they performed a PIT manoeuvre and spun the Volkswagen around to stop its progress as it was going 30 mph. Once her car was spun around, Winklebleck hit the gas and accelerated head-on into a deputy's patrol car, causing minor damage. Her car finally came to a stop and deputies arrested her as flames emerged from under the car's hood.



Fire extinguishers were used to put out the fire. No one was injured in the wreck. Deputies said Winklebleck wasn't drunk, and it wasn't immediately clear what caused her to drive in a reckless manner. She was booked into the Washington County Jail on charges of attempting to elude, second-degree attempted assault, reckless driving, reckless endangering, attempted assault on a police officer and criminal mischief. She's being held on $40,000 bail.

With news video.