A Florida woman stole a patrol vehicle and led officers on a high-speed chase that left three people dead, including herself.
Kendra Dalyn Boone, 33, jumped into the deputy's patrol car outside a Silver Springs shopping center on Feb. 1.
Bodycam footage shows Deputy Christopher Witte of the Marion County Sheriff's Office fumbling with the driver's side door of his vehicle when he realizes Boone had gotten in through the passenger side.
He managed to wrench the door open, but not in time to pull her out as Boone hit the accelerator and sped away.
'Stop stop!' Witte shouted as the vehicle sped away. “She just got in my car and drove off.”
Kendra Dalyn Boone, 33, stole an officer's police car in Silver Springs, Florida and sped away before crashing into another vehicle on the highway (pictured in latest 2021 mug shot)
Bodycam footage captured the moment Boone entered Deputy Christopher Witte's patrol car through the passenger door and slid into the driver's seat
Witte responded to reports of a suspect – later identified as Boone – attempting to steal an elderly woman's keys
According to a news release from the sheriff's office, Witte responded to reports of a suspect – later identified as Boone – attempting to steal an elderly woman's keys.
When Witte arrived at the Forest Shopping Center, he contacted Boone and directed her to get behind his patrol car.
Shortly after getting out, Boone entered the vehicle through the passenger side and slid into the driver's seat.
Witte tried to remove it, but the 33-year-old fled “at high speed,” the authorities said.
Another officer arrived as Boone sped away and a vehicle pursuit was initiated.
Boone drove east on East Highway 40 for several miles before making a U-turn near the weigh station west of Highway 19.
As she sped west, other police officers stepped in front of her pursuers to cut her off.
However, before Boone reached the area where they had placed stop sticks, he made another U-turn and began heading east again.
According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Boone fled “at a high rate of speed.”
A video showed Witte opening the driver's door before the 33-year-old stepped on the accelerator
In a desperate attempt to stop them, officers launched a high-speed chase, with Boone traveling at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour
Boone drove into oncoming traffic and collided with a black pickup truck. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident
The sheriff's office described Boone “driving well over 100 miles per hour and driving erratically,” causing officers to “lose visual contact” with the patrol car several times.
Boone left the roadway and crossed to the right side to pass a tractor-trailer.
As she tried to get back onto the roadway, she lost control of the patrol car, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a black GMC pickup.
After catching up with them, officers discovered Boone and the three occupants of the pickup truck were unresponsive.
The 33-year-old and two other people were pronounced dead at the scene, while a third person was taken to an Ocala hospital in critical condition.
Among the dead were a 73-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman from Waterloo, South Carolina.
The Florida Highway Patrol declined to provide details about the identity of the survivor other than to say he was a man.
The other two people killed were a 73-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman, both from South Carolina. A third person was taken to a local hospital in critical condition
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods called Boone an “idiot” at a news conference.
The Florida woman had an extensive criminal record. She was charged with fleeing police and trespassing in 2021 and was arrested twice for trespassing and burglary in 2020
At a news conference, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said none of the officers involved in the chase were injured.
“Two people were killed because of this idiot,” Woods said, referring to Boone.
“Now I want to make something clear right from the start,” he continued. “My deputy did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Records show Boone had a troubled criminal past before her death.
She was charged with fleeing or eluding police, a felony; and trespassing, a misdemeanor, in 2021.
Boone was booked into the county jail twice in 2020. Firstly, for misdemeanor trespassing and burglary of an inhabited building in 2020.
Florida Highway Patrol is conducting a fatal traffic accident investigation (FIX)