A 33-year-old Florida woman, Chanel Aisha Anderson, is accused of stealing a pregnant woman’s vehicle during a car wash and subsequently totaling it by crashing into a gas tanker truck and a light pole.
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According to a charging affidavit obtained by Law & Crime, the incident occurred at around 10:52 a.m. on Monday, July 7. A 911 caller, an employee at Big Dan’s Car Wash, located on W Vine Street in Kissimmee, reported that a Hyundai Sonata had been stolen while the victim was at the car wash.
A responding officer detailed in the affidavit that he observed the stolen vehicle at the Thacker Avenue and Vine Street intersection. Moments later, however, the vehicle collided with a gas tanker truck in the westbound lane. Then, it collided with a light pole.
The officer checked on the driver, later identified as Anderson, and contacted the car wash to confirm if her description matched that of the suspect. At one moment, the driver exited the vehicle and began yelling at the officer.
After the officer asked if she was okay, Anderson allegedly yelled that she wanted to fight him. The affidavit details that the woman began aggressively walking toward the officer. Observing her demeanor, the officer decided to discharge his Taser, which did not incapacitate the woman. A second deployment did.
According to the affidavit, after she was put in handcuffs, the woman resisted the arresting officers, “moving her body around and swinging her feet.”
Anderson was transported to a local hospital for a medical evaluation. There, hospital doctors determined that she met Baker Act criteria. This means that she is believed to be mentally ill and a danger to herself and others.
Pregnant Victim
The victim, Hellen Mendez, and a witness provided written statements to the police. They stated that Anderson approached Mendez’s vehicle and took off while at the car wash, as per the affidavit. At the time, Mendez was cleaning the carpets.
Chanel Aisha Anderson was charged with grand theft auto, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest without violence. She is currently being held at the Osceola County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
A GoFundMe was set up by Hellen Mendez to help raise funds to cover a new vehicle purchase. Mendez detailed she was 32 weeks pregnant and she is a mother of two, with two daughters aged 3 and 4. She also is in need of car seat replacement for her children.
“I am used to standing right back up after I fall, but with my sons due date approaching I am reaching out to my community to ask for any kind of support possible,” the GoFundMe reads. “Thank you for hearing me out. I ask that God give us peace and recovery both physically and emotionally.”