NORTH SMITHFIELD – North Smithfield police aided the Massachusetts State Police in apprehension of a Providence woman evading officers in a stolen vehicle with two flat tires last month, according to reports.
Lazandra Hightower, 32, was charged with felony possession of a stolen vehicle and reckless driving in North Smithfield following the incident on Saturday, Dec. 14.
According to the NSPD arrest record, officers were advised that a pursuit that began in Worcester, Mass. was approaching the state line and about to enter town through Route 146. Massachusetts police had previously deployed a tire deflation device to stop the stolen vehicle, but it continued to travel on two flat tires.
Town police followed the pursuit from a distance as the car, operated by Hightower, took the Victory Highway exit off the highway and drove along Great Road. The car traveled through Park Square and onto Eddie Dowling Highway before finally crashing just past Dowling Village.
Three MSP Troopers and two NSPD officers surrounded the car – a Honda Accord reported stolen out of Providence – with guns drawn, and Hightower was reportedly taken into custody without further incident.
Officers later learned that the vehicle had struck an Auburn, Mass. cruiser during the extended chase, and that the tire deflation device was deployed around three miles before the state line.
Hightower also had two active bench warrants, and the state database documents a long criminal history beginning in 2012 that includes charges for drugs, assault and theft.
In North Smithfield, Hightower was also issued traffic citations for driving with a suspended license, failure to maintain control of a vehicle and illegal display of registration plates. She was held without bail in one of the several open cases on Tuesday, Dec. 23 and is due back in court for her local charges on Thursday, March 12.
