Woman takes one last hit of crack after car chase caught on video, Michigan police say
This can’t be what they meant by “one more for the road.”
Thirty-six-year-old Kristi Rettig of Eastpointe, Michigan, led sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed car chase through the dark of night, the Sheriff’s Department says.
And when deputies finally got her to stop, they ran up to her car with their guns drawn, yelling at her.
“Put your hands up! Put your hands up NOW! Put your hands up! Put your hands up!”
But she didn’t, as video from a deputy’s bodycam shows.
Instead, Rettig put her hands on a crack pipe and lit it up — right in front of the officers pointing guns at her.
“In this job, you can never say you’ve seen it all,” Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham told Fox2 in Detroit.
His office posted the video and a lengthy description of the wild events that transpired around 2 a.m. on Oct. 25 on its Facebook page Thursday.
Rettig’s car caught a deputy’s attention because it didn’t have tail lights, Fox2 reported. The deputy tried “to make a traffic stop,” but the driver fled, the department’s Facebook post says.
The ensuing chase reached speeds of 100 miles an hour, according to the TV station.
“Stop sticks were deployed and the vehicle’s tires were damaged. As deputies attempted to box in the vehicle to get it stopped, the vehicle crashed into two fully marked deputy vehicles,” the Sheriff’s Office reported.
“The suspect vehicle drove off road and came to a rest. The driver and passenger were instructed by several deputies, with drawn pistols, to show their hands. The passenger complied, however, the driver had other priorities.
“As you can clearly see in this deputy’s body camera, the driver ignores deputies’ commands and begins smoking crack cocaine.”
The Detroit News described Rettig as a “parole obsconder” who has not reported in since March.
“She has two prior convictions for drug possession, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections,” the News reported. “She also has a 2005 conviction for unlawfully driving away an automobile.”
Rettig faces felony charges of first-degree fleeing and eluding police, assault with a dangerous weapon and drug possession, according to the newspaper.
The Sheriff’s Department turned her tale into one of caution, writing on Facebook that the drug problem “is everywhere and affects more than those who use. It affects family, friends, and even those just traveling down the road.
“If you or someone you know needs help to regain a clean and sober life, please take that first step. As a reminder, our doors are always open with HOPE NOT HANDCUFFS.”
Rettig had a passenger in the car who was also charged with possession of a controlled substance, Fox2 reported.
Her name is Alexandra Weed.