Woman who dragged cop during high-speed chase charged
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - A woman accused of dragging a police officer alongside a car and then leading police on a high-speed chase through the southern half of Wood County on May 14 is facing six felony charges in Wood County Circuit Court.
If convicted of all counts, Mariah M. Czappa, 18, of Wisconsin Rapids, faces a maximum sentence of more than 40 years in prison for first-degree recklessly endangering safety, fleeing an officer, methamphetamine possession and three felony and three misdemeanor counts of bail jumping. Czappa, who is in jail on a $10,000 cash bond, made her initial appearance on the charges Friday.
According to the criminal complaint:
A Nekoosa officer saw Czappa's car in Nekoosa, ran the license plate through the state's computer system and learned there was a warrant out for the owner's arrest. The officer stopped the car in the 900 block of Market Street and recognized Czappa, who was sitting in the passenger's seat.
The officer went to the passenger side of the vehicle and ordered Czappa out of the car. Instead of getting out, Czappa locked the door and ordered the man driving to get out. When the man didn't get out, Czappa pushed him out of the vehicle and slid into the driver's seat.
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The officer went to the driver's side of the car and reached in through the window to try and prevent Czappa from putting the car into drive, but she was able to get it into drive and sped away with the officer hanging from the window. Czappa drove over a concrete barricade and sidewalk before heading toward a fire hydrant with the driver's side of the car.
The officer, who thought Czappa intended to hit the fire hydrant with him, was able to get out of the window before the car hit the hydrant. The officer hurt his wrist but was able to get to his squad car and chase after Czappa's car. The chase, which reached speeds of about 100 mph, went from Nekoosa through Pittsville before Czappa's car spun out and entered a ditch near the intersection of State 73 and Knuth Road in Sigel. The Port Edwards Police Department and Wood County deputies helped in the chase.
Czappa continued to resist the officers' orders to get out of the car, according to the criminal complaint. An officer broke the driver's side window of the car to get her out. Police found methamphetamine in Czappa's purse, according to the complaint. They also found hypodermic needles in Czappa's brassiere while searching her. Czappa said she probably used the needles to inject drugs, according to the complaint.
Karen Madden: 715-424-7308, karen.madden@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter as @KMadden715 .