A woman who was traveling to Tennessee might have watched a little too much Fast & Furious and gone on a high-speed pursuit with the police. She has since been arrested in Tennessee after the police flattened her wheels with a spike strip, but before giving up, the woman ensured that she still had some fight left in her… by calling AAA to fix her flat tires.
The incident took place in Sigurd, Sevier County, and the woman in question is Annamae Cabalsa Martinez, 45 years old. Martinez was apparently overspeeding already at around 5:20 PM, drawing the attention of a Utah Highway Patrol trooper. According to the police report, Martinez was going 120 MPH on the I-70 route, so the trooper went in pursuit, reaching speeds of 130 MPH.
Martinez was supposedly slowing down, but sped up again to around 130 MPH after seeing the state trooper trying to pull her over. Hence, the trooper called for backup, and 100 miles later, they managed to entrap the speeding woman with a spike strip on the second attempt, which took place in Sigurd.
“The vehicle’s left front tire lost air and the vehicle pulled to the right side of the road and came to a stop. Traffic was shut down and a high-risk stop was performed with multiple troopers. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle failed to obey any commands to exit the vehicle or roll down the window.
I tried multiple times to get Martinez to roll down a window or exit the vehicle while yelling as loud as I could. A PA speaker was also used to try and get Martinez to obey our commands, which she refused,” according to the police affidavit, thanks to KSL for the transcript.
The commotion didn’t end just because of a flat tire, however, because Martinez went on to resist the trooper’s commands to step out of the vehicle, right in the middle of traffic. 40 minutes into the standoff, the police received a transferred call from AAA, which stated that Martinez had called the roadside assistance company to have her spiked tires fixed.
Michelle Rodriguez Could Never
Luckily, it appears no one was hurt during the chase, and no property was damaged, apart from Martinez’s wheels. The woman has since been taken to Emery County Jail and is under investigation for reckless driving and failing to comply with the police. There’s no confirmation on whether Martinez was driving under the influence or simply wanted to be part of Vin Diesel’s family.
The speed at which she was driving also brought many other high-speed police chases to shame, considering 130 MPH is almost the same speed as stock car racing. Of course, it’s still a crime and could’ve hurt anyone, but that didn’t prevent people online from admiring the guts (or the ignorance) of the Tennessee woman.
Some praised Martinez’s “cojones” while others say that what she did and how AAA responded was a good marketing strategy for the roadside assistance company. After all, the AAA Tennessee branch responded relatively fast to Martinez’s distress call. The chase must go on, it seems.
“That’s a hell of a sales pitch for AAA – State Farm would never,” suggest Redditor wvualum07
“Well, she needed to get the tire fixed,” argues Redditor chucklas
“The absolutely LEGENDARY balls on her!” praised Redditor snugglesmacks