30-Year-Old Woman That Lead Deputies On Violent Pursuit Declared Mentally Incompetent

POMONA (CBSLA) - Margaret Ann Hassan, who led Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies on a violent pursuit March 9 with her 9-year-old daughter in the car, has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

The 30-year-old woman was charged on March 11 with felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, assault with a deadly weapon and fleeing a pursuing peace officer while driving recklessly. She also faced misdemeanor charges counts of hit-and-run driving resulting in property damage.

However, on March 25, criminal proceedings against Hassan were suspended after questions of her mental capacity arose.

During the March 9 chase, which stemmed from a road rage incident, Hassan struck several vehicles, drove at high speeds and, at times, on the wrong side of busy streets from Walnut-Diamond Bar into the Inland Empire and back to Diamond Bar.

The three-hour pursuit ended when police disabled Hassan's vehicle. Armored vehicles surrounded three sides of the car and officers fired tear into the vehicle, unaware that a child was in the car.

"...and to the surprise of all personnel, a...child exited the rear of the vehicle and was brought to safety," Depute Trina Schrader of the LA County Sheriff's Information Bureau said shortly after the events.