FITCHBURG (WKOW) – Fitchburg Police report the arrest of a woman for nearly running over one of its officers on Christmas Eve.
According to Fitchburg Police, on December 24, 2018, around 11:20 p.m., officers responded to the 2900 block of Index Road for a report of an intoxicated female pounding on the doors and windows of an apartment building.
When an officer arrived, he noticed a woman matching the suspect’s description get into a car parked in the parking lot and begin to back out of the parking space. Police say the officer, who was in full police uniform and was equipped with his flashlight, gave commands to the driver to stop the car.
According to the department’s news release, the driver shined her high beam headlights at the officer, made direct eye contact with him, then placed the car into drive and accelerated rapidly directly towards him. The officer had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the car, which then sped over several curbs as it drove away from the scene. The officer was not injured.
Officers quickly located the car driving on McCoy Road near South Syene Road and initiated a high risk traffic stop. The driver was then taken into custody without further incident.
Police arrested 23 year old Rachel E. Lindgren of Monona and booked her into the Dane County Jail on charges of 2nd Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety, Operating While Intoxicated (1stoffense), Operating with a Prohibited Alcohol Concentration (1st offense), and Reckless Driving.