Report by Staff
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – A 23-year-old woman named Anna Belle Lewis faced arrest on Wednesday under the suspicion of deliberately crashing her car into another automobile, which had a two-year-old passenger inside.
The incident came to the attention of an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy after the victim called 911, reporting that Lewis was pursuing him in a hostile manner. According to the deputy’s account, Lewis’s car could be seen “aggressively” trailing the victim’s vehicle. The deputy noted Lewis appeared to be chasing the car dangerously, almost causing another collision. Both vehicles were subsequently pulled over by the deputy at the Melrose Fire Station.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the victim had been at Lewis’s residence visiting the young child when Lewis arrived home seemingly under the influence. An argument ensued between Lewis and the victim, prompting him to feel physically threatened. In response, he gathered the child and retreated to his vehicle for safety. The victim described a harrowing scene where Lewis allegedly raced after him, overtook his vehicle, and suddenly braked in front of them. Desperate to avoid a crash, the victim veered into a fence but could not prevent Lewis’s vehicle from colliding with his.
The chase reportedly continued along County Road 219A, with Lewis in pursuit and the victim clutching the child while on the line with 911 dispatchers.
Witnesses at Lewis’s house reportedly said the victim was playing with the child when Lewis arrived and got into an argument with the victim; they said the victim grabbed the child, got into his vehicle, and left, and then Lewis got into her vehicle and chased the victim’s vehicle down the driveway. The witnesses saw the victim’s vehicle hit the fence, but they did not see what happened after the vehicles pulled out onto the roadway.
The deputy reported that the victim’s vehicle had pieces of a fence in the grill, along with damage to the rear quarter panel that corroborated the victim’s statement that his vehicle was hit by Lewis’s vehicle.
Post Miranda, Lewis reportedly said she tried to hug the child while she and the victim argued, but he picked up the child and ran to his vehicle. She said she chased him because he did not have a car seat, so she was concerned about the child’s safety.
Lewis has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated child abuse without great bodily harm for intentionally striking the victim’s vehicle, knowing a child was inside. She has no local criminal history, and Judge Joy Danne ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold her without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.