Roxanne Rimer is escorted out of the Center Twp. Police Dept. Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette

A woman who police said stole a police cruiser while handcuffed and sped off at high speed after stealing from a department store Wednesday was arrested after police found her about 10 miles away, Center Township authorities said.

No one was hurt in the chase that led police southbound on Route 51 and Bocktown Road in Crescent and eventually to Aliquippa, but the cruiser, parked at the police station Wednesday night, sustained minor damage to its front bumper and sported scuff marks on its side.

Police say that Roxanne Rimer, 27, no address available, got up to speeds of about 100 mph when she fled police. She will be charged with aggravated assault, robbery, reckless endangerment, theft of a motor vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia, and she faces several traffic violations.

As officers walked Rimer past the damaged cruiser, a television reporter asked if she had stolen one. “I don’t remember nothing … they don’t believe me,” Rimer tearfully stated as she covered her face with a hooded sweatshirt.

The Center Twp. Police Dept. cruiser that Roxanne Rimer, 27, escaped in. Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette

Police say the incident began about 6:45 p.m. when they received a call about a retail theft at the Kohl’s store in Monaca, near Route 18.

After Rimer allegedly stole from the store, she shoved the store’s loss prevention officer and fled to a car in the store’s parking lot, where her mother and grandfather were, and tried to get them to leave, said Center police Chief Barry Kramer.

Rimer started going “out of control” when her grandfather, who was driving, tried to stop the car, the chief said. She managed to get her foot on the accelerator and drove the car out of the parking lot, over a hillside, down Route 18. Police were able to stop the car, and Rimer was handcuffed and put into the back of a police cruiser, the chief said.

The chief said that while officers were looking for evidence of the alleged theft and speaking with Rimer’s relatives, Rimer managed to crawl through the window separation in the police cruiser and get to the controls.

“With her back turned and her hands tucked behind her back, she manages to put it in gear and drive,” Chief Kramer said.

Rimer drove southbound on Route 51 and Bocktown Road. Police believe at some point on Bocktown Road she got out of the cruiser and was picked up by another vehicle. She got out of that vehicle, still in handcuffs, in Aliquippa, where she was once again detained by police.

Chief Kramer could not confirm that Rimer was still wearing the handcuffs when she was caught the second time. He said Rimer struck another police cruiser and her grandfather’s car with the cruiser she initially took but was unable to confirm whether any other vehicles were struck during the chase.

“We don’t believe there have been any others at this point,” he said. “Thank God nobody else was hurt.”

Police will review video footage from the cruiser’s camera to see what about the incident was recorded.

“Most of the pursuit should be on camera,” the chief said.

Police were unable to say what Rimer allegedly stole from the store Wednesday night. A woman who identified herself as a manager at the Kohl’s in Monaca said she could not comment.

Rimer had active warrants out for her arrest and police also found needles on her, the chief said. Police said she would be placed in the Beaver County Jail on those warrants Wednesday night.