NCPD officers on Evening Shift Team 1 arrested a 52-year-old North Charleston woman Tuesday night after she fled from a traffic stop and was later found in possession of cocaine.

Around 5:45 p.m., an officer traveling on Dorchester Road near Scarsdale observed a vehicle displaying an expired temporary tag. The officer initiated a traffic stop at Dorchester Road and Olivia Drive by activating her emergency lights. The driver initially continued driving before appearing to pull over, prompting the officer to turn off her siren.

The vehicle stopped at the corner, leaving little room for the patrol car. As the officer prepared to use her loudspeaker to ask the driver to move forward, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, traveling on the wrong side of the frontage road toward Olivia Drive. The officer notified dispatch that a pursuit had begun.

The driver failed to stop at a stop sign on Olivia Drive and ran a red light at the intersection of Olivia Drive and Dorchester Road. With lights and sirens activated, the officer pursued the vehicle eastbound on Dorchester Road. Just before the I-526 overpass, the driver made an illegal U-turn and began traveling westbound. During the pursuit, the vehicle drove through the median and along the grass shoulder to pass other vehicles and briefly entered oncoming lanes.

After several miles, the vehicle turned into the Bosch parking lot, made a U-turn, and reentered Dorchester Road. The pursuing officer briefly lost sight of the vehicle, while ensuring traffic was clear and subsequently canceled the pursuit.

Following the initial incident, the officer arrived at the Ashley Phosphate Road intersection, where they came across a fellow officer handling a traffic accident, and quickly identified the vehicle as the same one that had been involved in the earlier pursuit.

The driver, identified as Monica McGaskin, 52, was ordered out of the vehicle and detained. During an inventory search, officers observed white powder residue on the driver’s seat, torn plastic baggies with residue in the driver’s side door and a zippered pouch in the center console, and a rolled dollar bill. The residue tested presumptive positive for cocaine.

McGaskin was charged with Failure to Stop for Blue Lights and Possession of Cocaine. She was transported to the Al Cannon Detention Center.