BUCKHANNON – A Connecticut woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly driving recklessly while attempting to flee from police, nearly striking law enforcement officers’ cruisers at one point.
Elizabeth V. Kelly, 43, of Torrington, Connecticut, was arrested July 21, 2022, for fleeing with reckless disregard for the safety of others, a felony.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Sgt. Theron Caynor with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, on July 21, the E911 Upshur County Communication Center received a call about a reckless driver traveling eastbound on U.S. Route 33.
The vehicle was described as a small blue car with out-of-state plates, and according to the file, it had allegedly struck a truck along Route 33 but instead of stopping, the driver kept going.
The file says that while in pursuit of the suspect vehicle, Upshur County Sheriff Virgil Miller pulled in behind it, at which point he observed the small blue car allegedly weaving across both lanes of Route 33. Miller activated his lights and sirens and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.
The vehicle initially slowed, but then allegedly speed away from Miller, the complaint says. As it proceeded east, the vehicle began to pass other cars while allegedly continuing to weave in and out of traffic.
When assisting deputies arrived, the units attempted to box the suspect vehicle in to get it to stop. However, the blue car, later identified as a 2009 Hyundai Accent, allegedly drove off the road to the right and through a grassy area to get away from officers. It then re-entered the roadway, almost striking officers’ vehicles, according to the file.
But the chase didn’t end there. The driver, later identified as Kelly, continued east on Route 33 into Barbour County, and after law enforcement units tried to box the suspect in several more times, the vehicle finally stopped, Caynor wrote in the police report.
Sheriff’s deputies then identified the driver as Kelly and arrested her.
Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis set bail at $15,000 cash or surety, and as of Monday evening, Kelly remained incarcerated in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, according to the West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority.
The potential penalty for a conviction of fleeing with reckless disregard is imprisonment in the state penitentiary for not less than one nor more than five years and a fine ranging between $1,000 and $2,000.
