Woman Flees In Stolen Vehicle, Cops Arrest Her After 2-Hour Chase At McDonald's Outlet

Worcester Police were saved by the Golden Arches after being led onto a wild car chase on Tuesday by a woman who stole a commercial pickup truck. Johanna Gardell, 38, took authorities for a wild spin around Worcester, Massachusetts around 8:45am when they responded to a 911 call about a stolen vehicle.

According to the New York Post, the hot pursuit ended at a McDonald’s drive-thru when the woman attempted to make a quick stop for some take-away food during the chase.

The truck’s owner Raymond James Simoncini called 911 and informed them that a woman whom he said he did not know, climbed into his company-owned vehicle and drove away. The pickup truck, which is listed under Simoncini’s restoration company, was tracked down by officers through a GPS installed in the vehicle.

While the tail chase was in progress, the officers were flagged down by another individual who told them that their car had been hit by the pickup truck.

In a press release by the Worcester Police Department, police caught up with the woman and as an officer approached the truck on foot, Gardell drove away. Following safety protocols, the officer backed down and deactivated his lights and siren. The officer went back into his cruiser and followed her at a low rate of speed, but she did not stop.

When Gardell hit traffic on Main Street, police said she went around stopped cars and hit a van in the oncoming lane. Two officers who were working a detail and another officer in the area approached the rogue pickup truck and attempted to extract the woman from the vehicle.

But as the officers approached her, Gardell backed up the truck at high speed and struck the police cruiser behind her and knocked down and dragged one of the officers.The officer was taken to a local hospital and incurred non-life-threatening injuries.

A video obtained by CBS Boston shows the truck barreling through a construction site close to workers who unsuccessfully tried to stop her. The police finally caught up to Gardell at a McDonald’s drive-thru, but when two police cars approached her, she hit one of them and tried to go off-road. She ended up stuck in some mulch. “She was ordering chicken nuggets and they actually held her up,” the truck’s owner Raymond James Simoncini told Boston.com.

The officers called the fast food chain to hold her order and slow down the line. When officers approached the truck and were able to pull Gardell out of it, she fought and struggled to get free.

Simoncini said she claimed the truck was hers. Gardell is planning to plead not guilty. She is now facing a super-sized list of violations with a side of criminal charges including assault and battery.