On the evening of August 7, a woman was reportedly driving around Redding in a silver Acura.
Just after 7:00 pm, the authorities began receiving calls from bystanders who said they saw a silver Acura being driven unsafely. The callers said that the driver was going the wrong way on the road into oncoming traffic.
After the driver got on I-5 for a short distance, they reportedly exited the freeway and began doing doughnuts in a business parking lot.
Officers from the Redding Police Department went to the location and tried to stop the driver, but she drove away. The officers followed, but when the driver reportedly began going down the wrong side of the road, they stopped pursuing her for public safety reasons.
The authorities decided to try to stop the car by using a spike strip, but the driver navigated around it by switching lanes into oncoming traffic.
While police chased after her, the driver turned a corner and lost control of the vehicle.
It was reported that her car turned on its side with the wheels in the air, but the woman continued pressing the gas pedal and trying to turn the steering wheel.
The authorities broke the car windows with bean bags, and a K9 officer was sent in to try to apprehend the suspect.
The woman, identified as 25-year-old Christina Vallesteroes from Round Mountain, allegedly punched the K9 and grabbed it by the neck.
The officers ordered Vallesteroes to release the dog, and several officers helped secure her in handcuffs.
According to reports, the vehicle she was driving was reported stolen.
After Vallesteroes was checked at the hospital, she was booked into the Shasta County Jail. She is facing charges of vehicle theft, reckless evasion, impaired driving, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police K9.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a criminal offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.