N.J. woman charged in 10-mile police chase

State police said yesterday that they expect to bring multiple charges against a New Jersey woman after a 10-mile pursuit through Delaware and Maryland on Tuesday that left a trooper hospitalized and five cruisers damaged, police said.

The suspect, a 52-year-old woman whom police did not identify, allegedly drove through the scene of an accident in Delaware and then through a closed toll lane, launching a chase down Interstate 95 that ended in Havre de Grace about noon on Tuesday, police said.

Troopers forcibly stopped the fleeing vehicle - a silver Lexus sport utility vehicle - at various points, but the driver eluded capture, ramming cruisers and driving off-road, police said.

When the driver attempted to get off the interstate near Route 155, troopers were able to stop the vehicle, police said.

Maryland Tfc. Michael E. O'Donnell, 35, was injured twice during the chase, during separate stops of the vehicle. He was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center and released late Wednesday, police said.

Police said the woman was suffering from an undisclosed mental illness and was expected to undergo a mental competency evaluation at Harford Memorial Hospital after making "several irrational statements to troopers."