STUART, Fla. — No charges will be filed after a woman with dementia stole a truck from a residence in Stuart where she lives, and led deputies on a 10-mile, slow-speed chase down U.S. 1.
Video posted on social media Monday afternoon showed deputies finally maneuvering to bring that truck to a stop not far from the Martin-Palm Beach County line.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office said the initial call into dispatch was for a vehicle running cars off the road, and deputies were surprised when they discovered who was at the wheel.
"It was a 78-year-old female who had escaped or left a convalescent center here in Stuart and found a truck that had the keys in it, got in it and drove off," said Major John Budensiek of the Martin County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said the woman was confused when the chase finally ended, and she was brought back to her home unhurt.
The truck had been taken from the Brookdale Senior Living Center in Stuart.
It's unclear how the resident was able to take the vehicle leading to the chase.