Elderly woman leads cops on wild high-speed chase across three states

Here at Crazy America we firmly believe you can make an impact at any age.

That empowering philosophy was certainly alive and kicking on the desert highways of the Western United States yesterday afternoon, as a plucky female driver proved you needn’t be a spring chicken to lead cops on a merry song and dance.

It all started in the peaceful Nevada desert, between Moapa and Mesquite, where the lone 71-year-old driver of a 2006 green Ford Taurus was clocked doing 95 mph on the northbound side of Interstate 15.

Nevada Highway Patrol officers raced off in pursuit, but the woman doggedly refused to slow down, the St George News reports.

As the car neared the state border and Arizona patrol officers took over, the senescent speed merchant continued to lead cops at blistering pace past Littlefield and into the Virgin River Gorge.

Even a spike strip set up by officers near the Black Rock exit wasn’t enough to halt the indefatigable senior. She simply ran right over it, blowing out the tire on the front driver’s side.

“She just wasn’t stopping,” Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Grant Hintze explained.

Thanks to the blown tire, the woman’s vehicle had slowed to about 45 mph as it approached the Utah border, according to Hintze.

Officers decided it was high time to execute a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT maneuver. Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. John Bottoms rammed the right side of his patrol SUV into the left side of the Taurus, causing it to swerve sideways and eventually come to a stop across the border, right in front of the Utah Port of Entry.

Despite being immobilized, the woman still refused to go quietly. As Utah Highway Patrol belatedly got in on the act, she had to be forcibly pulled out of the vehicle.

She told officers in no uncertain terms that she “isn’t beholden to anyone” and “doesn’t recognize law enforcement or government in general,” according to Hintze.

The woman, since identified as Cynthia Wartren, was booked into the Washington County Jail, Utah, although she faces probable extradition to Nevada or Arizona.

With charges against her including felony reckless driving, speeding and evading, it’s a wonder no one was hurt.