A Cherokee Village woman, Jennifer Stokes, 43, was placed under arrest after nearly hitting an officer who was conducting a routine traffic stop the night of Oct. 6.
According to a report, Sharp County Deputy Bryan Buchanan was stopped with a vehicle near Starkin Law Office. He was standing near the driver’s window of the vehicle when he saw headlights approaching in the turn lane.
Initially believing it was another officer arriving on scene, Buchanan soon realized it was not the case as the vehicle began to swerve into the outer lane on the wrong side of the road and back toward Buchanan and the vehicle with which he was stopped.
As the oncoming vehicle drew closer, Buchanan told the driver of the parked car to brace herself as he attempted to get out of the way and onto the hood of his patrol unit.
Missing Buchanan and both parked cars by inches, the oncoming vehicle then swerved away but remained on the wrong side of the road.
Buchanan then jumped into his patrol unit and began to chase the vehicle that had continued toward Hardy.
Losing sight of the vehicle briefly, Buchanan was able to catch up as Stokes slammed into a semi that was on the outside lane.
“A fraction of a second later, I witnessed the vehicle appear to impact another vehicle as it went up on the right-side wheels spinning around counterclockwise and nearly rolling over,” Buchanan said. “Another vehicle was in the same lane as Stokes but swerved across the highway coming to a stop.”
It was later discovered Stokes had hit the semi twice rather than hitting the car which was sharing a lane.
Buchanan heard a loud explosion over the sound of his siren and saw a large amount of debris covering all lanes of the highway.
Stokes’ vehicle sustained heavy damage and was missing the front left side of her vehicle.
As Buchanan pulled his unit up to her vehicle, she began to flee on three wheels headed north on the southbound side of the highway losing parts and leaving a shower of sparks behind her.
After making it to the bottom of the hill, Stokes successfully negotiated a right-hand curve on the wrong side of the road but was unable to straighten out and ran into the curb on the north side of the road.
Stokes was placed in custody and transported by Hardy Corporal Michael Himschoot to the Sharp County Jail.
A breathalyzer test was given and a blood alcohol content of .192 was registered.
The driver of the semi was not injured; however, his truck was disabled following the accident.
Stokes was charged with fleeing, a class D felony; driving while intoxicated, a class A misdemeanor; leaving the scene of an accident, a class A misdemeanor; criminal mischief in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor; reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor and driving left of center.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
