Woman Crashes into Snowbank After Fleeing Hingham Officers in Stolen Car

Police say a 27-year-old Brockton woman driving a stolen car refused to obey a Hingham's officer's commands to pull over at the Derby Street Shoppes Monday and instead fled to Rockland, where she was arrested after crashing into a snowbank.

Melissa L. Brand, who was not injured in the crash, admitted to officers she had been shoplifting at the shoppes, Sgt. Steven Dearth said in a statement.

Inside the 2007 Pontiac G6, officers found 47 items from Victoria’s Secret in a bag without receipts totaling $1,003.38 and three pairs of Ugg boots in a Shoe Market bag, Dearth said. A receipt for the Shoe Market purchase showed they had just been purchased with the stolen car owners credit card at the Derby Street Shoppes.

The vehicle Brand was driving was tracked to the shopping center by Rockland police, who used the owner's phone's GPS after the car was stolen outside a convenience store.

"An Officer approached the stolen car on foot while it was stopped in a line
of traffic waiting to exit onto Derby St. The female driver refused to obey the Officers commands and turned onto Derby St. headed east towards Whiting St. (Route 53)," Dearth said. 

"Hingham Officers began a pursuit of the car as it traveled onto Whiting St. and turned right onto Pond St. into Norwell. The pursuit continued onto to Hingham St., Rockland and onto VFW Drive in Rockland where the driver lost control, spun out, and became stuck in a snow bank on the right side of the road.

"The driver initially refused to turn off the engine, and attempted to drive forward and back out of the snowbank several times but it remained stuck. She then was taken into custody without further resistance by Hingham, Rockland 
Officers and Massachusetts State Police."

Brand was charged with nine crimes, including receiving a stolen vehicle, larceny over $250, operating to endanger, failure to stop for police and driving with a revoked license, subsequent offense (revoked due to being a Habitual Traffic Offender).

The pursuit was not her first involving Hingham police.

In June 2012, Brand was charged with attempting to run over a Hingham Officer after a shoplifting incident outside Kohl’s in the Derby Street Shoppes. She successfully fled at that time into Norwell, but turned herself in several days later and ended up serving a year in jail.

After Monday's incident, Brand was ordered held without bail by the Clerk Magistrate, Dearth said. She was held overnight at the regional lockup facility at the Marshfield Police station and was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at Hingham District Court.

Brand faces additional charges from both the Rockland and Brockton Police.