Shoplifting suspect flees, crashes

A shoplifting suspect, allegedly fleeing the scene, ended up airborne in her vehicle and was ejected from her red Chevrolet Blazer Thursday, sheriff Kenny Dickerson said.

She remained in critical condition at the Regional One Health in Memphis, Tenn., Monday, he said.

Dickerson said the Holly Springs Police Department received a call from Angie’s Boutique on the downtown square at about 12:45 p.m. March 22 reporting a person had shoplifted items and fled the scene without paying. The red Blazer was later spotted by Holly Springs officers on Memphis Street, headed west and driving in a reckless manner, Dickerson said.

The vehicle turned off Martin Luther King Drive onto West Woodward Avenue while the patrol officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the sheriff said.

The Blazer went airborne just past a curve in the road, striking a red oak tree and skinning off bark, then glancing off and striking the passenger side of a old model Ford pickup truck driven by John McKinney. The Blazer took a roll, coming to rest upside down in the center of the street.

Fire and medical personnel were dispatched to the scene. McKinney, miraculously, was not injured and remained on the scene until a wrecker came to haul his pickup away.

The driver of the red Blazer, Georgia Ann Raimey, 54, of Kimbrough Chapel Road, was airlifted to Regional One Health.

Marshall County investigators were called to the scene to help investigate the accident through a mutual aid agreement with the City of Holly Springs.

Investigators said it appears the Blazer, after going airborne and scaling the tree, fell on the passenger side of the Ford pickup and rolled across it. Raimey was ejected some 20 to 30 feet from her vehicle, according to Dickerson.

Investigators retrieved clothing and other items believed to have been shoplifted from Angie’s to be identified by the store owner, the sheriff said.

The accident scene was cleared after evidence was collected for identification.

The incident is under investigation by Holly Springs Police Department and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department.