This is a printer friendly version of an article from www.thedailytimes.com
To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.
Article published Mar 31, 2009 Officers arrest pregnant woman after pursuit: Woman accused of driving under influence of drugs, trying to hit officer with SUV
By Iva Butler and Jessica Stith of The Daily Times Staff
A pursuit by a Maryville police officer on Monday ended in the apprehension of a woman who is six months pregnant and wanted on warrants and in connection with felony thefts.
Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp said the woman attempted to hit an officer on foot during the incident. The pursuit ended when she crashed into a parked car.
Tasha Leigh Lambert, 25, West Lincoln Road, Alcoa, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, possession of a Schedule II substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of an intoxicant and felony evading arrest. She was also wanted on four attachments for contempt of court and three warrants charging her with two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and theft of property.
Crisp said Lambert was also being held for investigation by Maryville Police Department for questioning in connection with multiple felony thefts.
Officers had already been on the lookout for the vehicle that Lambert was driving as well as possible occupants, due to previous felony thefts, Crisp said.
Maryville Police Officer James Powers spotted the vehicle at about 2:15 p.m. and attempted to stop the driver on 6th Street. Crisp said Powers activated his emergency equipment and the suspect vehicle "very rapidly" turned into a parking lot off Broadway Avenue and turned northbound onto South 6th Street.
"The officer pulled up to the vehicle in a head-on fashion on 6th Street and the vehicle stopped," Crisp said.
Suspect accelerates
Powers approached the vehicle, and moved in front of the driver's side of the SUV where he began issuing verbal commands.
"The offender looked at the officer blankly and began to accelerate the vehicle at the officer," Crisp said. "The officer moved out of the way before the offender could strike him with the vehicle."
Crisp said the vehicle traveled southbound and Powers pursued the vehicle in his marked patrol car. The driver failed to stop and Crisp said they approached Lincoln Road -- but the suspect was "traveling too fast" to make the turn at the dead end.
"The defendant slammed on her brakes and the vehicle went momentarily airborne and then crashed into a private vehicle that was in a driveway on Lincoln (Road)," Crisp said.
After the vehicle slammed into the rear of a 2007 white Honda Civic parked in the driveway of Lea Wright, the officer took the driver -- identified as Lambert -- into custody.
Residents hear 'crash'
Wright said she and her mother "were watching TV when we heard a loud crash."
"We were lucky we weren't washing the car or mowing the yard," Wright said.
The green Chevrolet Blazer knocked the smaller compact car about 20 feet on the concrete driveway. The collision with the Civic kept the Blazer from going down an embankment.
"We're lucky it didn't hit the house," Wright said.
Lambert was put on a gurney and rolled to a waiting Rural/Metro Ambulance and taken to Blount Memorial Hospital where she refused treatment. Crisp said Lambert is about six months pregnant, but officers did not know it prior to taking her into custody after the crash.
"The defendant stated that she was going to be sick as she had been using illegal drugs and would be coming down from the drugs," Crisp said.
Officers reported that she was in possession of a metal spoon, syringe and a homemade smoking pipe that contained Roxicet, which is a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen.
Crisp said Lambert's driver's license was suspended for failure to satisfy citations. He said more charges are possible against Lambert, following further investigation.
Besides Maryville Police Department, other agencies responding were Alcoa Police Department, Blount County Sheriff's Office, Maryville Fire Department and Alcoa Fire Department.