This article was originally published in The Examiner on Nov. 24, 2016.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
A Beaumont woman evaded police officers and crashed into a concrete barrier on the freeway with her toddler in the car early Sunday morning, Beaumont Police said.
A Beaumont officer was patrolling in the area around Lucas Drive near Eastex Freeway and saw a vehicle stopped in the roadway Sunday, Nov. 21, at 12:14 a.m., Beaumont Police Officer Carol Riley said in a news release. The officer approached the vehicle and noticed a small child in the arms of an unconscious woman, she said. When he tried to make contact, the woman woke up and sped off.
The woman was finally taken into custody when she jumped the curb at Laurel Avenue, went across several lanes of freeway traffic and crashed into the concrete divider, Riley said. Officers separated the mother and child, and arrested the mother.
The driver was identified as Joinae Loreal Powell, a 25-year-old City of Beaumont employee.
Beaumont Police officers transported Powell to the hospital. After she was cleared by hospital staff, they transported her to the Jefferson County Jail where she was booked in and charged evading detention with a motor vehicle and driving under the influence with a child passenger.
Eleanor Skelton 