MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A woman led Martin County deputies on a chase Wednesday, caused a rollover wreck, then threw a rubber snake at a law enforcement officer, authorities said.
According to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, the woman, whose name has not been released, sped away from a traffic stop Wednesday morning and intentionally hit a deputy on a motorcycle.
The woman then led deputies on a chase that ended on Warfield Boulevard when she struck a sheriff's office patrol car, as well as a truck with three people inside, causing the vehicle to roll over.
When a deputy approached the woman, she threw a rubber snake at him, according to the sheriff's office.
The woman was eventually taken into custody.
Exclusive video from WPTV Chopper 5 showed several Martin County Sheriff's Office cruisers pinning the woman's pickup truck in.
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Four people were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injures. The deputies who were hit by the woman were not hurt.
Sheriff William Snyder said the driver was not the intended target of a traffic stop, but for some reason, she stepped on the gas pedal, leading deputies on a chase, hitting multiple vehicles, and once she finally stopped, she threw a rubber snake at a deputy.
"Ironically, the motor unit flipped his blue lights on to stop another vehicle and he saw this truck, who he had not focused on, took off at a high rate of speed," Snyder said.
While trying to get away, investigators said the woman intentionally rammed a deputy's motorcycle. He was able to bail off the bike and wasn't hurt.
Then, into the chase, the sheriff said the driver tried another reckless and dangerous move.
"When that deputy was first coming up to the pickup truck, she intentionally swerved into his lane, nearly causing a head-on collision," Snyder said.
The sheriff said the woman then rammed another patrol car and crashed into three innocent people in that blue pickup, causing it to flip over.
When deputies finally surrounded her truck, the sheriff said, the woman threw what appeared to be a live snake at a deputy, but it turned out to be made of rubber.
"Thankfully, he had transitioned to put his firearm away and get his Taser out and he was able to deploy the Taser," Snyder said.
Snyder added the driver has suffered from mental health challenges in the past. He said the chase was necessary and his deputies engaged properly.
"She completed two aggravated assaults before the final lock on of a chase, at which point, they were not stopping," Snyder said.