Video Shows Woman Slip Off Handcuffs, Steal Lufkin Police SUV And Commence Wild Chase

Police in Lufkin, Texas, released a video of Toscha Sponsler, 33, of Pollok, getting arrested and then slipping through the handcuffs while in the backseat of a police SUV. Then she went all Daisy Duke on the cops.

The video shows Sponsler shifting awkwardly from left to right in the backseat of the SUV, and then the shoulder strap of the seat belt releasing. Sponsler then hopped into the front seat, took the wheel and drove off in a 100 miles per hour chase that ended 23 minutes later with a crash.

(For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Midtown Houston Patch, and click here to find your local Texas Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
Like Midtown Houston Patch on Facebook and get our posts directly in your newsfeed; story continues below.

Sponsler was initially arrested on suspicion of stealing. The police chased her down on foot and pinned her on the ground. They cuffed her and secured her in the backseat. Or so they thought. While going through her bag of potentially-stolen items, Sponsler made her getaway.

The video shows Sponsler, while driving, attempting to grab the police shotgun that's mechanically locked in the vehicle. During the chase, she almost went head on with two police cars and, in one scene, she avoided strips thrown into the road by one officer.

The chase ended in nearby Zavalla when a DPS Trooper used a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver to make her lose control of the vehicle and slide into a grassy patch along the road.

The officers shot out the window and pulled her from the vehicle, thus making another arrest. Sponsler waived medical treatment at the scene and was taken to the Angelina County Jail where she remains on a an $18,000 bond.

She is charged with escape causing serious bodily injury/threat of a deadly weapon, aggravated assault against a public servant, possession of a controlled substance, evading arrest with a vehicle with a previous conviction and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Follow Us On Facebook: Engage with your neighbors in the Metro Houston area and keep up with the talk of the day by liking one of our Facebook pages. Houston / Midtown Houston / Houston Heights / Galleria - River Oaks / Bellaire / Meyerland / Humble-Kingwood / Conroe-Montgomery County / Sugar Land / Pasadena / The Woodlands / Clear Lake

Photo via Lufkin Police Department