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The incident began around 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7:09 p.m. when a Westchester County Police officer attempted to stop a Nissan Maxima for a traffic violation on the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway in New Rochelle, said Kieran O'Leary, spokesman for the Westchester County Police.
The driver -- later identified as Lexxiani Lopez, of Hartford, Connecticut -- refused to pull over and drove off at a high rate of speed, O'Leary said.
The officer followed the vehicle on the parkway until the County Police Aviation Unit helicopter responded to keep the vehicle under observation. The Maxima entered northbound I-684 and county patrol officers continued to follow at a safe distance.
In the vicinity of the Route 138 exit in Goldens Bridge, the driver was impeded by heavy traffic and had to slow down. As marked county patrol vehicles moved closer, the driver attempted to force one officer off the road who was in the left lane of travel, O'Leary said.
He avoided a collision by pulling on to the left shoulder. The suspect vehicle then veered from the center lane to the right lane, striking a marked county police patrol car. The Maxima then went off the road, striking a second county police car and crashing into a snowbank.
Multiple county officers and NYSP troopers were on the scene and took the woman into custody. Her 8-month-old son was found in a child seat in the rear of the vehicle.
The woman was evaluated at the scene by EMS and released to County Police custody.
The infant was evaluated at the scene and also taken to Northern Westchester Hospital Center as a precaution for additional medical evaluation.
The child was released to relatives. Child Protective Services has been notified of the incident, O'Leary said.
One county police officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries due to the Maxima striking her marked patrol car.
Lopez was charged with:
- Assault
- Unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle
- Reckless endangerment
- Endangering the welfare of a child
She was held for arraignment.
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