Woman with drugs almost hit deputy, then led high-speed chase on wrong side of road, cops say

An Asheville woman was driving in the wrong lane when she nearly had a head-on collision with a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy, which led to a high-speed chase through multiple counties, according to the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office.

The pursuit ended nearly 50 miles from where it began, when Kimberly Dawn Calloway’s vehicle was disabled and got stuck on a gravel road, the sheriff’s office reported.

The incident began just after 1 a.m. Thursday, when sheriff’s deputy David Jones reported that a Jeep driving in the wrong lane almost hit the patrol car he was driving.

The sheriff’s office said Jones pulled over the Jeep, and with the 39-year-old Calloway standing in front of her vehicle the deputy learned that she had no insurance, both her tag and inspection had expired and she was “wanted out of Buncombe County.”

At this point, Calloway “jumped back into her vehicle,” according to the sheriff’s office, which said she sped off.

She led law enforcement on a high-speed chase, where she weaved “in and out of traffic and (traveled) on the wrong side of the road,” the sheriff’s office said.

Even after Black Mountain police officers used a spike strip that blew both of the front tires on the Jeep, Calloway continued driving into Asheville, where she was finally stopped when the road she was on turned into a gravel roadway, according to the sheriff’s office.

Before she came to a stop Calloway attempted to continue an escape, the sheriff’s office said but as she spun the tires on the Jeep, a rock was thrown into the patrol car’s windshield.

After the 42.9-mile chase through McDowell and Buncome counties, law enforcement searched the Jeep and “27.8 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia” were recovered, the sheriff’s office reported.

According to the sheriff’s office, Calloway was charged with:

▪ fleeing to elude arrest

▪ possession of methamphetamine

▪ possession with intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine

▪ possession of drug paraphernalia

▪ injury to personal property

▪ resisting a public officer

▪ expired or no inspection

▪ operating a vehicle with no insurance

▪ expired registration card or tag

▪ aggressive driving

▪ center line violation and designated lane violation

At Calloway’s bond hearing, a $62,000 bond was set, mcdowellnews.com reported.

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Woman with drugs almost hit deputy, then led high-speed chase on wrong side of road, cops say."