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JSO: Woman trips over headstone, captured after escaping from police car

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Middleburg woman escaped from a patrol car while under arrest and was apprehended after tripping over a headstone, a police report said.

Jacqueline Byrne, 22, was charged with attempted escape, DUI, resisting arrest and marijuana possession.

Byrne was pulled over on Beach Blvd. early Wednesday after a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office patrol car observed her driving 44 mph in a 35 mph zone, JSO said. The suspect stated that she was driving 44 mph because her cruise control was set to that speed.

A JSO officer said in the report that Byrne’s bra was “drastically exposed” and that a light odor of marijuana was evident. The officer asked Byrne to step outside her car, and the report said her pant zipper was completely down.

JSO says Byrne became very uncooperative after she failed an impairment test. After her arrest, she complained that her handcuffs were too tight, so JSO loosened the restraints. In the report, the suspect stated she couldn’t breathe in the back of the patrol car, so the officer lowered the rear door windows.

As the officer checked Byrne’s vehicle, a wrecker driver informed him that Byrne had escaped from the car. In the report, the officer stated he saw Byrne jump the fence around the H. Warren Cemetery.

According to JSO, Byrne was stopped when she tripped over a headstone. During the chase, the officer said he dropped some pills that he had recovered from Byrne’s car.

The pills were not found.