Two Salina women were injured after they led police on a chase through a west-central residential area Sunday.
Initially, Salina Police were called to the 600 block of North 12th on Friday for the report of suspicious activity, Captain Paul Forrester said Monday. While there, they observed a 2008 white Nissan Altima that had a tag belonging to a vehicle out of Finney County and a registration sticker from Sedgwick County. At that time, they were unable to locate a person associate with the vehicle, he said.
At 10:55 a.m. Sunday, an officer spotted the vehicle driving on North College. When the officer stopped the vehicle at College and Park, the driver gave a name the officer believed to be false, Forrester said. While the officer was waiting for backup before proceeding, the driver started the car and sped away, Forrester said.
Forrester said that with the police officer in pursuit, the Nissan, traveling at speeds up to 60 mph, took the following route.
- South on College
- West on Ash
- South on Chicago
- East on Spruce
- South on Phillips
- West on South
- South on Montrose
- East on Charles
- North on Phillips
- East on Prescott
- North on Phillips
- West on Spruce
- South on Broadway
Near the intersection of Broadway and Crawford, the driver attempted to cut through the parking lot of Kansasland Tire and Service to avoid the stoplight, Forrester said. While cutting through the parking lot, the car hit a landscaping boulder, went airborne, and struck a cement pole, he said.
The driver was identified as Joanna Deniston, 28, of Salina. Both she and a passenger in the vehicle, Sophia Lamas, 33, of Salina, were injured and were transported to Salina Regional Health Center, Forrester said. Deniston was then transported to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, he added. He did not know the extent of her injuries.
Forrester said it is believed the Nissan belongs to Lamas. Narcotics items were found in the vehicle, he added.
Requested charges against Deniston could include felony flee and elude and interference with a law enforcement officer, Forrester said.