FORT WALTON BEACH—A woman pulled over for suspected drunken driving faces additional charges after she tried to escape in a police vehicle, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
While at the intersection of Santa Rosa Boulevard and U.S. Highway 98 on Okaloosa Island, a deputy watched 24-year-old Sara Ashley Kirksey of Laurel Hill run through a red light, according to Kirksey’s arrest report.
She then stopped at a second red light before making a right turn onto U.S. 98, the report said. The intersection is marked with a sign indicating no right turn on red.
The deputy stopped Kirksey on Perry Avenue north of First Street in Fort Walton Beach about 7:30 p.m. Kirksey failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for driving under the influence, according to her arrest report.
After the deputy placed Kirksey in his patrol vehicle, she slipped out of her handcuffs, opened the divider window and slid into the driver’s seat while the deputy was outside the vehicle.
She put the vehicle in drive, but the deputy was able to step on the brake. Kirksey then punched the deputy in the chest and head, the report said.
She also gave a false name and birth date, according to the report.
Kirksey was charged with escape; resisting an officer-obstruction without violence; battery on an officer or firefighter; DUI; and falsely identifying herself.
