By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A 31-year-old Wausau woman is facing a slew of criminal charges after allegedly leading police on a 7-mile high speed chase through Schofield and Wausau early Friday.
Mai Xiong appeared Friday in Marathon County Circuit Court, hours after she allegedly fled from police following a Schofield traffic stop. She was ordered held on a $5,000 cash bond.
According to the criminal complaint:
- Xiong was driving on Grand Avenue in Schofield when an officer ran the plates on her vehicle and learned the vehicle registration was suspended for unpaid parking tickets in Wausau. When the officer pulled Xiong over, Xiong initially gave a false name. But the officer recognized Xiong from a previous incident and ordered Xiong from the vehicle.
- Rather than complying, Xiong, put the car in gear and sped off, leading police on a 7-mile chase through Schofield and Wausau streets with speeds topping 70 mph. Xiong ran several stop signs and at one point drove up onto the curb and into the front yard of a residence.
- Officers used stop sticks to deflate the tires of Xiong’s vehicle, forcing her to stop in the area of South 4th Avenue and Rosencrans Street on Wausau’s west side. Police then say she fled from the vehicle and into a nearby yard before being forced to the ground by a K-9 officer.
The chase began around midnight Friday morning, according to the police report.
Xiong, who has six additional open cases pending in Marathon County Circuit Court, now faces charges of fleeing an officer, resisting or obstructing an officer, failure to install an ignition interlock device, operating while revoked, and four counts of bail jumping. She was also cited for failure to stop at a stop sign and driving with a revoked or suspended registration.
A preliminary hearing on the new charges is set for April 23.
