Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson last week found there is sufficient cause for a Fremont woman to face felony charges for leading a Williams CHP officer on a high speed pursuit through two counties before crashing her car on Interstate 505.
Zoie Veda Harmon, 34, will be arraigned July 26 on charges alleging evading an officer with willful disregard to the safety of the public, driving under the influence of drugs, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance after she allegedly tried to flee a Williams CHP officer at speeds up to 130 mph.
Harmon has admitted a 20-year history of drug use, according to testimony at her July 12 preliminary hearing, and spent a lengthy stint in an Oklahoma state prison for drug trafficking and firearm possession.
CHP Officer Kyle Zerbel said he was on patrol northbound on Interstate 5, north of Hahn Road, in Williams, around midnight on June 23, when he saw a vehicle traveling in the southbound lane at around 100 mph in a 70 mph zone.
After activating his radar, which clocked Harmon at 107 mph, Zerbel said he made a U-turn in the freeway median and tried to initiate a traffic stop.
Zerbel said Harmen traveled between 97 and 102 mph as she weaved in and out of traffic before she straddled both lanes and accelerated to 129 mph – once taking a freeway offramp only to immediately return to I-5.
In Yolo County, Harmen reportedly entered Interstate 505 eastbound at a clocked speed of 130 mph, at which time she turned off her headlights.
Kerbel said he lost sight of Harmans vehicle in the darkness until she hit her brakes when she lost control.
Harmons vehicle then traveled across the freeway and into the westbound lane, narrowly missing oncoming traffic, before veering off through a wire fence and coming to a stop, Kerbel said.
Kerbel said Harmon, who was not injured, was noticeably under the influence of a controlled substance, but was compliant when apprehended, even producing a bag of methamphetamine from her bra when she was placed under arrest around 1 AM.
Harmon was transported to the Colusa County Jail along with her passenger, Robert Andrew Gallardo, 42, of Newark, who was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Gallardo is scheduled to be arranged on the misdemeanor charge on July 26. –