OCEAN CITY — A Pittsville woman was arrested on drunk-driving and numerous traffic violations early Tuesday morning after a high-speed chase through the downtown area that reached speeds approaching 100 mph and ended with stop sticks being deployed at 3rd Street and the vehicle eventually stopped on the Route 50 bridge.
Around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, an OCPD officer on patrol observed a Pontiac driven by Sunny Mae Schrum, 26, of Pittsville, heading north on Baltimore Avenue while consistently honking her horn for no apparent reason for several three-to five-second bursts from 6th Street to the intersection with Coastal Highway at 33rd Street.
According to police reports, Schrum continued to lay on the horn while committing several traffic violations including driving through marked traffic signals. For example, at 9th Street, Schrum was in the designated turn lane before swerving back into northbound Baltimore Avenue. The OCPD officer continued to follow Schrum north on Baltimore Avenue as she continued to blast the vehicle’s horn for no apparent reason with no other vehicles on the roadway or pedestrians in the area.
When Schrum stopped in the middle of the marked crosswalk at 33rd Street and Coastal Highway, the OCPD officer activated his emergency lights in an attempt to stop her vehicle. Schrum eventually stopped at 45th Street, but as the officer approached the vehicle on foot, she allegedly took off again, making a U-turn and heading south on Coastal Highway.
Several other OCPD officers joined the pursuit as Schrum’s vehicle reached speeds in excess of 90 mph. According to police reports, Schrum drove through six solid red traffic signals during the pursuit including 26th, 23rd, 17th, 12th, 8th and 5th streets. A decision was made to deploy stop sticks in the roadway at 3rd Street, which were successful in disabling Schrum’s vehicle.
However, she continued south on Philadelphia Avenue and eventually came to a stop on the westbound side of the Route 50 bridge.
A background check revealed Schrum’s Maryland driver’s license was revoked in February 2015 for a point system violation and suspended in March 2016 for failure to pay child support. Officers detected an odor of alcohol on Schrum and she was transported to the Public Safety Building where she did not pass standard field sobriety tests to the officers’ satisfaction. She consented to a blood-alcohol test which resulted in a reading of .15.
Based on the evidence, Schrum was charged with driving under the influence and driving while impaired along with numerous traffic violations related to the chase.
