Toscha Sponsler, a 33-year-old woman from Pollok, Texas, is facing multiple charges including felony possession of methamphetamines, escape, evading arrest on foot, aggravated assault of a police officer, and the unauthorized use of a police vehicle.
The Lufkin Police Department responded to reports of a possible shoplifter when they first caught up with Sponsler near South First at Loop 287 on September 2nd, 2017 around 5:30 PM. The suspect was handcuffed and placed in the back of a SUV police cruiser. While the officers searched her belongings, Sponsler managed to slip one hand out of the handcuffs, possibly by dislocating her thumb.
With her hands free, Sponsler removed her seatbelt and climbed through the sliding partition. The video below is a compilation of the interior cruiser cameras and the officers’ body cameras. It has been edited together to follow the events chronologically.
According to the Washington Post, the suspect led police in a 23-minute long chase along Loop 287 at speeds near 100 mph. At one point she nearly crashed head-on into a pair of Lufkin police officers and other civilian drivers. Pursuing officers noticed that Sponsler appeared to be “fumbling with the officer’s shotgun.”
Sponsler eventually loses control of the police cruiser near state Highway 63 at the 69 Southbound intersection. After making a hard turn into a residential yard outside of Zavalla, Sponsler crashes the SUV around 6:00 PM. Officers shattered the driver’s side window and captured the fleeing suspect. Sponsler suffered minor injuries from the crash, but declined medical aid.
The police cruiser was heavily damaged and likely totaled. Fortunately no one was seriously injured during the incident, which is still under investigation.
NBC News reports that Sponsler was taken to the Angelina County Jail and held on a $18,000 bond.