The high-speed chase of a stolen construction company truck ended with a crash in a roundabout in The Villages.
Ashley Nicole Kirkland, 23, of Belleview, was at the wheel of a blue Chevrolet Colorado pickup at about 3 p.m. Monday when the vehicle crashed in the roundabout at Buena Vista Boulevard and Hillsborough Trail. Sumter County sheriff’s deputy had been pursuing the stolen CGB Construction Group truck at speeds of up to 100 mph. At one point, Kirkland accelerated the truck and struck a detective’s vehicle hard enough to knock off its front bumper.
Kirkland lost control of the vehicle as she approached the roundabout, it jumped the curb and hit the Village of Hillsborough sign. At gunpoint, Kirkland was ordered to crawl out of the passenger side of the car. She told the deputies, “There’s guns in the car.”
Deputies found a Glock 10mm handgun tucked in a woman’s purse. The gun had a full magazine and a round in the chamber. A Ruger 6.5 grendel rifle and .357 Maverick handgun were also in the vehicle at the time of the crash. The truck was stolen from a residence under construction in Belleview and the guns were in the vehicle at the time of the theft.
Methamphetamine, marijuana and syringes were also found in the vehicle.
Kirkland initially was taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center for treatment. She was later booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamine, grand theft of a firearm and driving while license suspended. She was being held without bond because she is on felony probation in Marion County on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.
