Wrong-way driver crashes, blames oncoming cars for being in her way, Florida cops say
A Florida woman accused of crashing while driving the wrong way in traffic instead placed the blame on other motorists, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
It happened around 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, when the woman “intentionally drove westbound in the eastbound lanes on Highway 98 near Hurlburt Field,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The field is 35 miles east of Pensacola, on Eglin Air Force Base.
“Multiple witnesses told the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office 20-year-old Anessia Jines was traveling at a high rate of speed in her Nissan Sentra and deliberately swerving to try to collide with oncoming traffic,” the sheriff’s office said.
“She ultimately hit a 71-year-old woman driving a Toyota, who suffered significant but non-life-threatening injuries.”
The identity and condition of the driver were not released.
An off-duty Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy was the first to arrive at the crash, noting Jines was not injured and “attempted to walk away” when her vehicle became inoperable.
The deputy attempted to detain her, officials said, prompting Jines to ask: “Why are you touching me?”
“(The deputy) replied ‘Because you could have killed someone,’” according to officials. ”He says Jines said she didn’t care. It was ‘their bad.’”
Jines, who lives in nearby Baker, also refused to get into a patrol car, the sheriff’s office said.
She was arrested and “charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer,” officials said. She was being held without bond Feb. 20 in the Okaloosa County jail, records show.
“We want to express our gratitude to all the callers who alerted the OCSO to the dangerous situation and those who stopped to assist in the investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.
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