SARASOTA, Fla. — The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a convicted felon on nine charges Tuesday after she fled from deputies and caused a wrong way crash on I-75 South.
Tactical Unit deputies first initiated a traffic stop on Jacqueline Burge, 54, who was driving without a license, around 11:00 a.m. As deputies activated their emergency lights, Burge began to flee in the 2100 block of Edmondson Road in Nokomis, driving through a residential yard and eventually striking a deputy’s vehicle.
Deputies say that Burge continued to flee northbound on Albee Farm Road and eventually onto Laurel Road at speeds more than 70 MPH.
During the pursuit, Burge merged onto I-75 southbound and lost control of her vehicle several times before crashing into another deputy’s vehicle and continuing to flee northbound in the southbound lanes.
"Some drivers were going onto the grass. Others stopped dead in their tracks, others just kept going hoping to avoid it," said witness Maricela Santos.
Maricela Santos witnessed the pickup truck going the wrong way on the interstate. She took cell phone video of what she saw.
Burge eventually caused a head-on collision with another vehicle before fleeing from her car on foot. She crashed near the Curry Creek Bridge.
"After a quick little chase, she loses control of the truck and crashes the back of her pickup truck into the bridge," said Santos.
Deputies took her into custody and during a search of her vehicle, recovered methamphetamine, prescription pills, narcotic equipment, and several miscellaneous ID cards.
Burge faces two counts of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, two counts of Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Property Damage, Resisting an Officer, Possession of Narcotic Equipment, and Driving with License Suspended.
She has more than a dozen prior arrests in Sarasota County for crimes including Grand Theft, Burglary, Sale of Synthetic Narcotics, Prostitution and drug possession. Burge is a convicted felon who spent time in prison on charges from both Sarasota and Manatee counties.
She remains in custody today on $26,000 bond.
