A 75-year-old woman was arrested early Saturday morning after a driver led police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 5 from Merlin to Ashland.
Josephine County Sheriff’s Office deputies clocked the car traveling at 112 mph on the interstate near Merlin just before midnight Friday. The driver failed to stop when deputies sounded their sirens, and when she passed into Jackson County, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office took over the chase.
During the pursuit, police spiked the vehicle’s tires at least seven times, but the driver kept going, according to a post on the JCSO Facebook page. She drove without tires from Central Point to exit 14 in Ashland. At that point, police used a Pursuit Intervention Technique to stop the vehicle. They arrested Elizabeth Katherine Essex of Ashland.
The incident occurred without injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon did a great job coordinating the multiple agencies leading to a successful and safe resolution of the pursuit,” the post stated.
The sheriff’s office also credited Oregon State Police, as well as Rogue River, Central Point, Medford, Phoenix, Talent and Ashland officers with assisting with the incident.
Essex was held in Jackson County Jail on Saturday without bail, according to the county inmate list.
