A Colorado news station obtained images and details from a high speed chase in August involving a mother who had kidnapped her 4-year-old daughter and was heading into dangerous heights above Cañon City.
Ashley Procter, 33, faces 17 charges in the August 21 incident, including attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, animal cruelty, child abuse, and reckless endangerment, as CrimeOnline reported. Procter, her daughter, and a 9-month-old puppy in the vehicle were all treated for minor injuries at the end of the wild chase.
The incident began in the city when police were called by a Department of Human Services caseworker who said Procter assaulted her during a court-ordered visitation, took the child, and fled. The little girl had recently been removed from Procter’s custody over safety concerns. One of those claims, court documents said, was Procter’s desire to “get her child and drive off a cliff,” according to KCNC.
Police quickly caught up with Procter, who was livestreaming her run with a video camera on her dashboard that showed the little girl, unsecured in a car seat, and the puppy, also unsecured, on the floor behind her.
Three Cañon City officers engaged in the pursuit through neighborhoods, with Procter running stop signs and finally heading north on US Highway 50. Officers ended the pursuit with a PIT maneuver after she turned onto Skyline Drive, a narrow strip of asphalt rising onto a high ridge above the city.
“The drive is known for the one lane windy roads leading up to areas that people have been known to drive off, due to the road having no traffic barriers on either side,” a detective wrote in a police report, noting that the officers were unaware of Procter’s statements about driving off a cliff at the time.
In her livestream, Procter complained about being chased.
“I’m doing some crazy s***- right now,” she said with sirens blaring in the background. “I’m not going to let people take my kid, dude. This is my daughter, dude.”
“OK, here we go,” she said as she approached Skyline Drive and squealed into the turn.
The livestream ended with the crash.
Procter posted bond and was released on September 1. She is due back in court on November 13.
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[Featured image: Ashley Procter’s vehicle spins after a police officer rear ends her car at the end of the pursuit/Cañon City Police Department via KCNC]
