PHOENIX — A woman was taken into custody after leading Pinal County officials on a pursuit into the Valley with two babies in the vehicle.
The incident reportedly started around 2 a.m. when Pinal County officials spotted a Dodge Charger driving erratically along I-10 north of Eloy.
The vehicle sped off and deputies initiated a pursuit, but during the pursuit, a Hyundai attempted to run the deputy’s vehicle off the road twice. A second pursuit was then initiated by another deputy for that vehicle. In an update Friday afternoon, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said they believe the Dodge Charger and the Hyundai were traveling together in tandem.
Deputies continued to pursue just the Hyundai and at one point, the driver attempted to run down deputies who had spike strips set up along I-10.
The vehicle was successfully spiked near I-10 and Loop 202 and the driver later stopped the car near 7th Street and Osborn Road.
At that point, a 19-year-old woman was taken into custody. Lamb says the woman was not a U.S. citizen, but she had permission to be in the country.
Two people suspected of being in the country illegally were also in the vehicle, as well as the driver’s 1-year-old and 5-month-old children.
The children were taken from the car unharmed.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials took in the two people suspected of being in the country illegally.
We know those two babies are in DCS care and the two migrants were turned over to ICE.
ABC15 spoke to a nearby business about the chase ending so close to their office:
"It's wild,” says Tom Pomeroy. "It gets really busy at night still busy at night, but I was surprised to hear that a chase wound up here last night.” He adds, "Hopefully they get it straightened out and whatever problems she had to drove her to that get straightened out.”
The driver is booked in the Pinal County Jail on aggravated assault, unlawful flight, endangerment, and child abuse.
We asked the Pinal County Sheriff's Office how often they encounter undocumented migrants being transported along I-10. They tell us they encounter 3, sometimes as many as six carloads per day, usually on I-10 between Eloy and Casa Grande.
They say they are noticing incidents where two vehicles are driving together more often now, possibly to increase the chances of getting away.
Pinal County Sheriff, Mark Lamb posts on social media, “This is what smuggling looks like and this is what we’re dealing with every day in counties like mine.”
In most cases, deputies say they turn everyone involved over to border patrol but in this case, the driver remains in the custody of deputies because of the other charges involved.
The other car involved at the start of this, a Dodge Charger, has not been located.
