Ohio woman tells police she didn’t stop during high-speed chase because she was on her way to work

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - It started with an Ohio trooper attempting to pull over a vehicle on I-77 northbound, and ended with multiple police cars smashed and a dramatic arrest.

The reason for the death-defying chase? The suspect said she was on her way to work, according to police.

Imani Edwards is charged with felonious assault and failure to comply after she was finally stopped on East 105th Street in Cleveland, just north of St Clair Avenue.

Police had Edwards boxed in on I-77, and were out of their cruisers with guns drawn when she decided to run again.

She smashed into a Newburgh Heights cruiser and then into the back of a state trooper’s vehicle, which was pushed into another Newburgh Heights cruiser, and she was off again, at high speeds, northbound on 77.

Edwards, who used her turn signals through the entire chase, exited at I-490/East 55th. She then headed north on 55th weaving in and out of traffic, at high speeds, and made her way through the Cleveland Clinic campus.

While turning on East 105th Street. a trooper was able to ram the back of Edwards’ car, which then hit a utility pole. But even with her back end demolished, Edwards continued to speed through residential streets, making multiple turns and running numerous stop signs and red lights.

Finally, back on East 105th, just north of St. Clair, a trooper was able to force her off the road and into another utility pole where Edwards was placed under arrest.

Newburgh Heights police Chief John Majoy praised the work of the officers who never fired their weapons.

“Their lives were at stake, she almost ran them over, that’s a 2,000 pound weapon coming at you, they jumped out of the way just in the nick of time, to save their own lives,” Chief Majoy said.

There were no injuries to police or innocent bystanders.

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