Alleged drunk driver zips through busy parking lot during police chase with open container in hand: video
An alleged drunk driver was seen zipping around a busy parking lot holding what appeared to be an open container of alcohol after taking Texas state troopers on a chaotic, high-speed cross-county chase.
Audrey Marie Schneider, 37, was driving down I-35 in Comal County, Texas, near San Antonio, in her white Toyota SUV on Thursday when a state trooper attempted to pull her over for a traffic violation around 2 p.m., according to News4SA.
Instead, Schneider reportedly ignored the officer and sped away — igniting a destructive high-speed chase.
She then led the trooper on a reckless pursuit through Comal and Bexar counties, driving erratically on the highway, ramming into multiple cars — including a patrol cruiser — and eventually into a shopping plaza.
A video of Schneider recklessly driving around the shopping center with patrol cars hot on her tail shows the alleged drunk driver circling the parking lot at an alarming speed with what appears to be a drink in her hand as onlookers try to keep their distance from the mayhem.
Her SUV is eventually cornered down a row of cars, with two police vehicles briefly trapping her.
Schneider is then seen hitting the gas and ramming the rear of her SUV into one of the cop cars, then slamming into a civilian vehicle, giving her enough clearance to get away.
The hot pursuit finally ended outside a salon in the shopping center.
Schneider jumped out of her vehicle barefoot and bolted into the business, but was chased down by a trooper, who entered the salon and was allegedly assaulted by the suspect while he placed her under arrest.
The trooper was not hurt in the scuffle, and no injuries were reported during the chaos, according to News4SA.
She then is seen being taken out of the business in cuffs by officers, smiling bizarrely and repeating, “I’m so sorry.”
As officers pin her against their cruiser and search her, she interacts with the crowd of onlookers, joyfully yelling things like “Santa is coming” and “I’m back, b–ches.”
Schneider was evaluated at the scene for injuries before being taken to the Bexar County Jail.
She faces a slew of charges, including evading arrest, aggravated assault on a public servant, and driving while intoxicated with an open container of alcohol in her vehicle.
According to court records obtained by KSAT, this is not Schneider’s first incident involving driving and alcohol.
Schneider faced a charge of obstruction of a highway while intoxicated in 2017, according to the outlet.
Records show the charge was dismissed due to her being granted deferred adjudication.
