Injured, bloodied Marin County woman leads Petaluma police on chase

Petaluma police are trying to figure out what prompted a San Anselmo woman parked on the side of the road with apparent injuries to suddenly flee when an officer pulled over to check on her welfare.

Elizabeth Higgins, 57, led officers on a pursuit through Petaluma along East Washington Street and into Penngrove Sunday morning before she finally stopped after seeing the spike strips laid out by police at Ely Road and Old Redwood Highway.

Petaluma Police Lt. Ken Savano said a bystander called police after seeing a woman who appeared to be injured inside a gold Mercedes sedan parked at East Washington and Sutter streets about 9:17 a.m. Her head was leaning against the driver’s side window and it appeared as if she might be unconscious, police said.

“She had dried blood on her head from a previous injury. We don’t know if she crashed her car somewhere and hurt herself. We’re trying to figure it out,” Savano said.

When Officer Bill Baseman arrived on the scene the woman - later identified as Higgins - drove away. As she took off eastbound on East Washington Street she began to speed up and slow down and at times raised her hands up in the air, Savano said.

On northbound Old Adobe Road, she crossed the double-yellow center line twice, Savano said. She didn’t stop, even after passing CHP officers investigating a fatal accident that happened Saturday at the Corona Road intersection.

At Petaluma Hill Road, she ran a red light and headed into downtown Penngrove before returning to Old Redwood Highway and heading back toward Petaluma, police said.

“We were trying to find a safe place to stop her, using the front end of the patrol car to spin her out,” Savano said. “But there was no shoulder, so we didn’t do it.”

At Old Redwood Highway and Ely Road police laid out spike strips. Higgins stopped just short of the strips and police were able to box her vehicle in with patrol cars, Savano said.

Higgins initially refused to comply with commands to step out of her car, police said. Officers were able to convince her to surrender and she was taken into custody without incident.

She had injuries consistent with having been involved in a collision, Savano said.

Higgins was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital as a precaution before being booked in Sonoma County Jail. Savano said police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine if Higgins was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204. On Twitter @megmcconahey.