A convicted felon took a bloodied mugshot after she allegedly caused a head-on collision on a Florida highway while trying to escape police this week.
Jacqueline Burge, 54, faces nine charges after she was arrested on Tuesday following the crash on Interstate 75 in Sarasota.
Her charges include aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a controlled substance, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, resisting an officer, possession of narcotic equipment, and driving with a suspended license.
Convicted Florida felon Jacqueline Burge, 54, took a bloodied mugshot after she allegedly caused a head-on collision on a highway while trying to escape police this week
Authorities said Burge initiated the police chase after officers tried to pull her over in a traffic stop around 11am.
Authorities said Burge (pictured in a past mugshot) initiated the police chase after officers tried to pull her over in a traffic stop
Burge drove through a residential yard and struck a deputy’s vehicle as she attempted to flee, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
She continued to drive through multiple streets at speeds of more than 70mph, eventually merging onto I-75.
Authorities said Burge lost control of her vehicle ‘several times’ before she crashed into another deputy’s vehicle.
The pursuit continued on the highway as Burge drove in the opposite direction of the cars going down the southbound lane.
‘Some drivers were going onto the grass. Others stropped dead in their tracks, others just kept going hoping to avoid it,’ Maricela Santos told WFTS.
Santos was driving in the northbound lane when she spotted Burge’s car and began to record the chase on her cellphone.
She captured the moment Burge crashed into another vehicle head-on, finally stopping the car chase.
But Burge remained undeterred and got out of the car, attempting to flee from police on the highway by foot.
She was quickly taken into custody. The other driver in the head-on collision was not injured.
One woman on the highway captured footage of Burge’s pickup truck driving in the wrong direction on Interstate 75 during the chase
Burge eventually caused a head-on collision (pictured) with another vehicle after hitting two other deputies’ cars
Deputies searched Burge’s car following her arrest and found methamphetamine, prescription pills, narcotic equipment, and several miscellaneous ID cards.
Burge has more than a dozen prior arrests in Sarasota County.
Her past charges include grand theft, burglary, sale of synthetic narcotics, prostitution, and drug possession.
Burge remains in custody on a $26,000 bond.
Deputies searched Burge’s car following her arrest and found methamphetamine, prescription pills, and narcotic equipment. She is pictured here in past mugshots