A multi-car crash that involved a tanker truck and closed Vine Street (U.S. 192) at Thacker Avenue for a good chunk of the day last week was not a simple collision; it was part of a felony theft, police case and crime.
Chanel Anderson, 33, was charged with vehicle theft, criminal mischief of $1,000 or more at misdemeanor resisting arrest without violence following the incident that started at a car wash at Vine and Orange Blossom Trail. As of Sunday Osceola County Jail records show she remains held there on a total bond of $5,000. She made an initial appearance in front of a judge this week.
This all happened Monday. It started just before 11 a.m. at the newly-opened Big Dan's Car Wash at Vine and Main, when an employee called police to report someone stole the victim's car. The victim had left her car running and stepped five feet away while vacuuming her car mats, when she said an unknown person walked towards her white Hyundai Sonata, jumped in and took it. The suspect, later identified as Anderson, then drove through the new car wash at a high rate of speed, nearly running multiple people over, and causing over $20,000 damage to the car wash due to the speed the car traveled.
With Kissimmee police searching Vine Street for the vehicle, minutes later an officer saw a Sonata matching the description of the stolen vehicle cross the median, collide with a tanker truck, then strike a light pole. The crash closed all lanes of West Vine Street at Thacker for hours.
When the officer went to the driver's side to check on the driver, she exited the vehicle and "began to yell at me, if I was going to shoot her. I asked the driver again if she was okay and she yelled that she wanted to fight with me," the police report stated, to which the officer then unholstered his taser.
"The subject then started to walk towards me saying in an aggressive manner that she was going to fight me, as she walked toward me with both fist clenched. Due to close proximity and she was saying she was going to fight me in an aggressive manner while walking towards me I ... deployed my CEW towards her. The first CEW deployment did not appear to achieve (Incapacitation) and the subject did not stop walking towards me. Since the subject continued walking towards me, I deployed my CEW for the second time getting the subject going down to the ground. Once the subject then fell to the ground I remained there until responding officer where able to place handcuffs on her. Once the subject was placed in handcuffs, she started to move her body around and swinging her feet's, kicking her feet around. The subject continued to resist the officers."
According to the incident report, the Kissimmee Fire Department transported Anderson to HCA Florida Osceola Hospital for a medical evaluation. Doctors there determined she met Baker Act criteria and completed paperwork for evaluation.
A corresponding traffic citation for careless driving shows Anderson's address in the Conway area of Orlando. Prior to Monday she had no criminal record in Orange or Osceola County.
