Sarasota deputies arrest woman after car chase

Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies used two tactical maneuvers to stop a Sarasota woman after a car chase Monday, March 4, on the Bee Ridge Road on ramp to I-75.

Deputies responded to a call at 9 a.m. about a suspicious vehicle on the Bee Ridge Road extension. The Sheriff’s Office reports that 42-year-old Kristina Grzep drove her Hummer 3 toward a responding unit and fled north.

Grzep drove through stop sticks — spiked devices used to deflate tires — before deputies used a ramming technique to stop the vehicle after a six-mile chase. A negotiator convinced Grzep to exit the vehicle, and officers discovered she had been huffing nitrous oxide.

Grzep is charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon on Law Enforcement, Unlawful Distribution of Nitrous Oxide, Fleeing to Elude and two counts of Resisting Arrest without Violence.

The Sheriff’s Office cited Grzep for driving on a suspended license in 2010, Driving Under the Influence in 2011, and at least six other traffic infractions since 2005.