Police after midnight Friday arrested a 52-year-old South Salem, N.Y. woman who crashed into patrol cars, ran over on officer’s foot and drove straight at another one during a pursuit that started on Oenoke Ridge Road.
Donna Berisha. Photo courtesy of the New Canaan Police Department
Donna Berisha of 6 Audubon Road was charged with three counts of assault on a police officer, conspiracy to attempt assault on a police officer, reckless driving and engaging police in pursuit.
It started at about 12:55 a.m. on March 11, when an officer saw a vehicle stopped on Oenoke Ridge Road with its hazard lights flashing, partially obstructing the northbound lane, according to a police report.
The officer obtained Berisha’s New York State driver’s license after a brief conversation, and she then drove away from the scene, kickstarting the pursuit, the report said.
As it went on, Berisha “forcibly crashed into two New Canaan Police cars,” the report said.
“At several points in the pursuit officers were able to get Berisha’s vehicle to stop and attempts to remove her from the car were made, during these attempts she ran over an officer’s foot and caused injury to that officer’s shoulder, this officer was later treated and released from Norwalk Hospital,” it said. “In another attempt to remove Berisha, she drove directly at an officer causing that officer to jump behind his police car for protection.”
New Canaan Police Lt. Jason Ferraro, the department’s public information officer, called the damage to the patrol cars “minor to moderate” and said they were able to be driven from the scene.
It isn’t clear why she fled in the first place, Ferraro said.
The pursuit ended on Audubon Road in South Salem, the report said, about 1.5 miles over the state line.
Berisha additionally was cited for failure to obey an officer’s signal and failure to drive right.
She was held on $10,000 bond and scheduled to appear Friday in state Superior Court in Norwalk.