Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On January 22nd, 2023, at around 5:05 p.m., a Missoula Police Department officer observed a gold sedan traveling westbound on 39th Street without a front license plate. The officer also noticed that the female driver was not wearing her seat belt. At this time, it began lightly snowing and the roads were getting slick. The officer pulled out into traffic to initiate a traffic stop on the driver.  

The driver conducted an abrupt turn onto Weeping Willow Drive in front of another vehicle. The officer activated his overhead emergency lights and signaled the driver to pull over. The sedan then turned left into a parking lot of an apartment complex.  

The officer began to place his patrol vehicle in park, thinking the driver was pulling over, but she did not. The driver continued driving through the parking lot and did not yield to the officer’s emergency lights. After maneuvering through the parking lot, the driver exited and began traveling southbound on Gharrett Street. 

Woman Flees From Officer

As the driver approached Garland Drive, she veered into the northbound lane of travel. At that time, another vehicle was traveling northbound. Due to the driver being in the opposing lane of travel, the driver of the other vehicle had to steer towards the shoulder to avoid being struck head-on.  

The driver of the gold sedan got back into their appropriate lane of travel and continued to flee southbound on Gharrett Street. At this point, the officer’s speed was approximately 60 miles per hour and the speed limit in this area is 35 mph.

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After passing 55th Street, the driver entered the opposing lane of travel once again to negotiate a left bend in the roadway. After the curve, there was a vehicle, a tan sedan, traveling northbound in their assigned lane of travel. The driver of the gold sedan was still in the opposing lane of travel. The tan sedan was forced to veer to the right shoulder of the roadway to avoid being struck head-on by the driver of the gold sedan. 

She Finally Exits the Vehicle

The driver negotiated one more left curve in the roadway, just before Eastwood Lane. It was at this time, the driver lost control of the vehicle. The driver abruptly exited the vehicle and allowed it to continue rolling. The female placed her hands above her head and began to act distraught. The vehicle began rolling towards a ditch and the female was standing in the driveway of a nearby residence. 

The officer ordered the female to get on the ground. She complied with the officer’s commands and stated she wasn't the driver several times, despite the fact that no others who could have been driving were present and that the officer had personally observed her exiting the driver’s seat of the vehicle. 

A short time later, the female identified herself as Amanda Rogers. The officer observed numerous alcoholic beverage containers around the floorboard of the vehicle. However, the officer did not recall Rogers smelling of an alcoholic beverage. In addition, the officer said Rogers’ speech did not sound any different from his prior dealings with her and he did not suspect impairment at that time.  

Drugs are Found

The officer provided the license plate to a local dispatcher who confirmed that Rogers had a suspended license to drive and was on probation. Court documents indicate Rogers admitted to driving the vehicle as well as being in possession of methamphetamine. 

Rogers also admitted there were several needles in her purse. The officer searched the purse and found six needles. There were also two pieces of folded foil and one of them had a black residue on it. An officer was able to conduct a complete search incident to arrest on Rogers and located the bag of methamphetamine. 

Rogers is currently being charged with felony criminal endangerment, felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs, fleeing from a peace officer, driving with a suspended license, criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to display a license plate. 

On January 23, 2023, Rogers made her initial appearance in Missoula Justice Court and her bond was set at $25,000. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.

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