A Florida woman was arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder of a law enforcement officer for allegedly hitting a deputy with a stolen vehicle on Wednesday.
“The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said the incident occurred after Katarina Vanfossen, 23, fled from deputies after being involved in a traffic crash in a stolen white Ford Taurus,” ABC Action News reported.
Later that day, MCSO Aviation Unit deputies found the car on the south side of Mad Marks at 30th Ave East and 1st Street.
The sheriff’s office detailed the events in a news release and also posted aerial video footage of the incident to its YouTube channel:
As deputies moved in to conduct a takedown, the driver attempted to pull the vehicle forward to exit the parking lot. One of the deputies responding to the scene parked her unmarked vehicle in the path of the stolen car, but the driver reversed the vehicle away from the deputy’s vehicle at which point the deputy got out of her vehicle and gave verbal commands. Seconds later, the driver rapidly accelerated the stolen car forward and struck the deputy with the front of the car, causing the deputy to be propelled onto the hood and windshield. As the car continued to accelerate, it struck another MCSO vehicle and came to an abrupt stop. The deputy flew off the vehicle and landed hard on the pavement.
Moments later, deputies arrested the driver when she exited the car.
“Vanfossen is charged with; Motor Vehicle Theft, Fleeing to Elude, and Second Degree Attempted Murder LEO (2021-000898), Fleeing to elude (2021-001540), and Leaving the Scene of a Crash (2021-001799),” the press release said.
The deputy was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is reportedly in good condition.
“She needs to be put in prison and I will do everything in my power to make sure those charges are not reduced, that there’s no plea bargain,” Sheriff Rick Wells told ABC.
“She needs to do the time because my deputy is lucky to be alive and I’m aggravated and I’m angry about it,” he concluded.
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