Woman flees from police in minivan, gets away twice

Nearly hits cop before
speeding away at 100 mph

A person would never guess a minivan could get up to 100 miles an hour on streets of La Crosse. One would also never expect to use a minivan to get away from police.

But a 43-year-old Whitehall, Wis., woman pulled off both, including eluding police in her getaway van twice.

Initially, it looked like a basic traffic stop for Kimberly Christenson, pulled over on the north side of La Crosse on Sunday afternoon. Harmless.

But, as the officer was walking back to his squad car, Christenson took off in her minivan at speeds nearing 55 miles an hour in the 30 mph area.

Police were told to stop pursuit because of icy road conditions, but it wasn’t long before another officer spotted the van.

Things appeared to be settling down as Christenson stopped in a vacant parking lot. But, as the second officer approached her van, gun drawn, she took off again. This time, nearly hitting the officer, then his squad, before getting away at speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour, according to the police report.

The woman did finally come to her senses and pulled over. She was immediately arrested for a slew of charges, including a blood-alcohol percentage of .24. She also had an outstanding warrant.

She eventually stopped for the officer and said she fled because her passenger, 34-year-old Jason Morrow with a 0.24 percent alcohol concentration, told her to, according to reports.