Woman drives stolen tow truck to gym where she assaults boyfriend, California cops say
A woman stole a tow truck in Northern California and drove it to a Planet Fitness where she assaulted her boyfriend, police said.
Police chased after her in a “lengthy pursuit” that left one officer injured, authorities said said.
Laura Kettell, a 35-year-old from Monterey, stole the truck after 6 p.m. April 19 from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the Redwood City Police Department said in a news release.
Police said they found the vehicle at a Jack in the Box in San Carlos.
When they tried to stop Kettell, police said she got into the tow truck and rammed it into the officers’ vehicles, “causing major damage.” One officer was injured, taken to a hospital and released.
She sped off onto U.S. Route 101, going 80 to 90 mph, police said.
Police chase after Kettell
California Highway Patrol and the Menlo Park officers tried to stop Kettell, but she crashed into a vehicle and fled, police said. The driver was not injured, police said.
Authorities said they stopped the police chase at that point.
Shortly after, police said the highway patrol found Kettell in the tow truck on State Route 85.
They tried to stop the truck, but she “immediately braked and CHP collided into it, disabling the patrol vehicle,” police said.
Cops use GPS to find her
Once authorities learned the tow truck had a GPS on it, they said they tracked her movements that way.
Kettell returned to Redwood City where she broke into a home as a nanny was watching children, police said.
Deputies with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office tried to put out spike strips to end the chase, but she took off again, police said.
She drove to a Planet Fitness gym next, where she assaulted her boyfriend who worked there, police said.
Before Kettell could get back into the truck, a police dog bit her on her hip, police said.
She was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, failure to yield, vehicle theft, residential burglary, domestic violence, resisting arrest and committing a felony while on bail.
Kettell had previously been on bail “from a domestic violence case last week,” police said. She had also been arrested on a burglary charge four days prior in Redwood City.
Redwood City is about a 25-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.
If you are experiencing domestic violence and need someone to talk to, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support at 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
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