A York woman is in custody after leading Nebraska State Patrol troopers on a high-speed chase through Sarpy County neighborhoods Monday afternoon. Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas says the pursuit began around 3:45 p.m. when a trooper spotted a stolen Buick sedan traveling eastbound on Interstate 80 near Gretna.
He says the driver initially pulled over near mile marker 435, but then refused commands and sped away, triggering a pursuit. “The driver fled with speeds above 100 miles per hour and drove on the shoulder at times before exiting I-80 at the Highway 370 interchange,” Thomas says.
He says the driver continued fleeing eastbound on Highway 370, running red lights and weaving through traffic. The Omaha Police Department’s Able-1 helicopter joined the pursuit from the air. Thomas says the suspect drove on surface streets, at times traveling into oncoming traffic, before returning to Interstate 80 and exiting onto 144th Street.
“Another trooper successfully deployed stop sticks on 144th street to slow the vehicle.” The driver continued into a residential neighborhood near 144th and Giles. Thomas says the suspect then drove through a park where children were present and crashed through several backyard fences before abandoning the vehicle near South 154th Avenue and Chalco Pointe Drive.
Additional troopers, officers, deputies, and K9 units responded to assist in searching the area. Thomas says a short time later, Able-1 pilots identified a person in the area that matched the suspect description. Troopers then took 28-year-old Raquel Cervantes into custody without further incident.
She was arrested and booked into the Sarpy County Jail for theft by receiving stolen property, flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving, criminal mischief, and numerous traffic violations.