Drunken Woman Punched, Kicked Officers, Police Say

A drunken Union woman tried to flee from a traffic stop and punched and kicked Springfield officers before being placed under arrest, police said.

Krystyna Rak, 53, was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer with use of a weapon (her car), possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, eluding police in a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and hindering apprehension.

She was also charged with driving under the influence, possession of an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle as well as multiple motor vehicle violations including reckless driving to disregard of traffic signals.

According to Springfield Police, Officer Anthony Reimer was on patrol Friday at about 2:15 p.m., when he observed a four-door sedan traveling on Mohawk Drive where the driver was seen continually throwing ripped up paper out of the window.

The officer also noticed the vehicle had a flat rear tire and stopped the car on Archbridge Drive, police said.

Reimer detected a strong odor of alcohol and believed the driver was under the influence, police said. Reimer also discovered an active bench warrant issued for Rak's arrest for failing to appear in Union Municipal Court.

When the officer instructed Rak to turn off her car, she put the vehicke in drive and sped off, causing Reimer to be spun around and thrown into a tree, police said. The officer got into his patrol car and pursued Rak, who ran a stop sign pulling onto Milltown Road, police said.

Officer Reimer and Officer Melissa Esteves pursued Rak from Milltown Road in Springfield to Springfield Road in Union, police said. During the pursuit, Rak was seen throwing items out of her car window, including her handbag, police said. While driving into a sharp turn on Liberty Avenue, Rak lost control of her car and the vehicle's front axle was broken when it jumped a curb in front of an office complex in the 600 block of Liberty Avenue, police said.

Even with her car damaged, Rak tried to drive off, but was blocked by the officers' patrol cars, police said. Rak then punched and kicked Reimer and Esteves as they removed her from her vehicle, police said.

Rak was arrested and remanded to the Union County Jail in Elizabeth in lieu of $75,000 bail. Her initial court appearance in Union County Superior Court is this Friday.

"It is clearly obvious that this individual should not have been driving a car and by doing so she posed a serious threat to all persons on the road," Police Chief John P. Cook said. "The quick actions by Officers Reimer and Esteves were able to eliminate this threat with no injuries to other persons, the suspect or to themselves."