Woman charged for ramming into patrol car after hit-and-run in Morganton

MORGANTON, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — A woman has been charged after ramming into a patrol car, damaging a citizen’s car, and leading officers on a chase, according to the Morganton Public Safety Department.

Around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, officers responded to the area of Toner’s Pub in downtown Morganton about a hit-and-run involving property damage. When they arrived, they saw a parked car was hit on the rear bumper, forcing it into a utility pole.

The suspect left the scene but was found a short time later in the Ingle’s parking lot on Carbon City Road, officials said. That’s about two miles from where the hit-and-run took place.

The driver, 34-year-old Cassandra Queen from Lexington, N.C., was confronted by officers who were using de-escalation techniques to gain cooperation. Officers believed Queen was under the influence of drugs or alcohol based on her actions and suspected contraband in the car.

Officials say she was told to open her car door because she was under arrest. She didn’t listen and officers attempted to use a door-unlocking kit; at which point, Queen started her engine. The officers tried to use a punch-tool to break the window, but Queen put her car in reverse and ran into a Morganton Patrol Car before exiting between two other cars and leaving the parking lot. Authorties didn’t say if any officers were injured in the incident.

Queen led officers on about a seven-mile chase before a North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper used a tire deflation device on I-40 east, just past the Enola Road exit.

Early Sunday morning, Queen was booked into the Burke County Jail under a $24,000 secured bond for the charges of:

• Driving while impaired
• Felony flee to elude arrest
• Speeding
• Driving while license revoked
• Hit and run, leaving the scene (property damage)
• 3 counts of resisting a public officer
• Driving the wrong way on a dual-lane highway
• Failure to burn headlamps
• Failing to stop for a stoplight
• Reckless driving

Officials say her license was already suspended for previous DWI charges. Her vehicle was taken by North Carolina under the state’s “Run and You’re Done” law based on how she tried to evade officers. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 26.

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