The woman accused of intentionally hitting two Cobb County deputies with her car is facing more than two dozen charges, including several felonies. And it all began when she was asked to move her car, according to the sheriff’s office.
Candida Rychell Summerlin, 32, of Marietta, revved her engine several times, rapidly accelerated and struck the first deputy shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, according to her warrant obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The impact sent the female lieutenant airborne and then to the ground, breaking her leg and causing other injuries, the warrant states.
Summerlin wasn’t done, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The accused then, when confronted by Sgt. R. Kite to halt her vehicle, crossed over the center of the lane and drove directly at Sgt. Kite, striking him in his leg and arm, then damaging the curb and running over a stop sign,” the 10-page warrant states.
The crashes disabled the rented Chevrolet Cruz, which sat for several hours outside the jail visitor’s center Friday afternoon before it was towed away. After struggling with deputies, Summerlin was arrested and booked into the jail, just days after she had been released for a separate incident, booking records show.
Summerlin’s alleged actions were captured by jail security cameras, according to her warrant. Moments before striking the first deputy, the deputy asked Summerlin to move her car to a different parking space due to her loud music, according to police.
Ernie Johnson, 20, of Rockmart, was at the jail visiting his uncle when he saw a deputy running after the blue Chevy, he told The AJC.
“She was trying to fight,” Johnson said outside the jail Friday.
Johnson said deputies struggled with the woman, later identified as Summerlin, for several minutes before she was taken into custody.
Summerlin faces a long list of charges, including: aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hit-and-run, interference with government property, criminal damage, obstruction, and fleeing or attempting to elude, jail records show. She has also been charged with reckless conduct, reckless driving, aggressive driving, failure to maintain lane, driving on the wrong side of the road and refusing to comply with police directions.
Summerlin remained Monday in the Cobb jail, where she was being held without bond.
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