FOREST ACRES, S.C. — An incident report released by the Forest Acres Police Department is giving new details on a police chase that ended in a crash, including what officers believe was stolen and how fast speeds got during the chase. The chase involved a woman who had her four children in the vehicle at the time, according to officers.
Police have said the incident began around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday when they got a 911 call of a shoplifting at a store in Trenholm Plaza, which is at the corner of Forest Drive and Trenholm Road.
Police said the suspect, identified as 37-year-old Ashley Nicole Baker, didn't stop her SUV when they attempted to pull her over in the parking lot. Instead, officers said she got onto to Forest Drive and attempted to drive away from the scene. The incident report said the pursuit on Trenholm traveled toward North Beltline Boulevard, where the vehicle got up to 72 miles an hour in a 40 mile an hour zone. Officers said they were able to slow the vehicle, and the pursuit continued down several streets.
The report said the SUV sideswiped an officer's car, then drove on the sidewalk before hitting a light pole and flipping in front of a house on Trenholm Road.
The woman's four children, who are all 13 and younger, could be see crawling out of the back of the vehicle when officers approached the scene, according to the report. The children were checked out and taken to the hospital and were later released. Baker was also taken to the hospital, and as of Wednesday night, she was still hospitalized.
The report said Baker was believed to have taken items from the Sephora and Bath & Body Works stores in Trenholm Plaza. The report said officers found candles, body lotions, cologne, and earrings, which they said was taken from the stores. In Those items, which police said totaled $800, were returned.
The report said officers intended to charge her with failure to stop for blue lights, shoplifting, and child endangerment.
Forest Acres Police said they asked the South Carolina Highway Patrol to investigate.