STEUBEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – A 37-year-old woman from Quincy, Michigan is in the Steuben County Jail after a 100-mile-per-hour police chase that happened while her child was in the vehicle.
Brienne Bicknell was wanted for drug offenses in Branch County, Michigan, and was arrested Friday evening around 6 p.m. Steuben County Sheriff’s Office deputies used stop sticks on I-69 to blow two of her tires and slow her down from 100 to 40 miles per hour before she tried to make a U-turn and lost control.
Her child was turned over to the Indiana Department of Child Services.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Department released the following:
On 03/15/2024 just before 6:00 pm, Steuben County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of I-69 and the Indiana/Michigan state line for a request for assistance from the Branch County (MI) Sheriff’s Office. Branch County Sheriff’s deputies were pursuing a fleeing vehicle believed to be occupied by 2 wanted subjects and a child southbound on I-69 approaching Indiana.
Brienne Bicknell
When deputies arrived in the area, stop sticks were deployed in an attempt to deescalate the vehicle pursuit and bring it to a safe conclusion. As the fleeing brown Chevy Astro minivan entered Steuben County, the vehicle successfully struck the stop sticks causing both passenger side tires to deflate. The successful stop stick deployment deescalated the pursuit from nearly 100 mph in Michigan down to 40 mph. The fleeing suspects still continued at the low rate of speed southbound on I-69 on the remaining two tires.
Several additional attempts were made to deploy stop sticks as the suspects continued on I-69 but were unsuccessful in deflating the driver side tires. The driver of the minivan then attempted a U-turn in the median crossover near the 347 mile marker but began to lose control of the vehicle and stopped in the median. Sheriff’s deputies along with Angola Police and Indiana State Police were able to take both adult occupants into custody without further incident.
The driver was identified as 37 year old Brienne Lee Bicknell of Quincy, MI. During a subsequent search incident to arrest, some suspected drug related items were allegedly found in Bicknell’s possession. Bicknell was also found to be wanted out of Branch County, Michigan for an alleged drug offense. The male passenger was also found to have arrest warrants out of Michigan but they were non-extraditable from the state of Indiana.
A female child belonging to Bicknell was located inside the vehicle and appeared to be unharmed. The child was transported to Cameron Hospital by Steuben County EMS as a precaution and was later turned over to the care and custody of the Indiana Department of Child Services. Bicknell was booked into the Steuben County Jail by Angola Police on the following preliminary charges:
Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle – Leve 6 Felony Neglect of a Dependent – Level 6 Felony Possession of a Schedule I, II, III, or IV Controlled Substance – Class A Misdemeanor Possession of Hypodermic Syringe or Needle – Level 6 Felony Possession of Marijuana – Class B Misdemeanor Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated – Class A Misdemeanor Reckless Driving – Class C Misdemeanor Fugitive Warrant out of Michigan
The male passenger was released at the scene by Angola Police. The incident still remains under investigation by Angola Police and The Branch County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan. Additional charges may be sought both in Indiana and in the state of Michigan.
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