Alachua County woman charged with intentionally crashing into vehicle with 2-year-old inside

Staff report

Updated on July 1 with bail amount.

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Anna Belle Lewis, 23, was arrested yesterday for allegedly intentionally crashing into another vehicle with a two-year-old inside.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy became involved when the victim called 911 to say he was being chased by Lewis, who had intentionally hit his vehicle, and the deputy saw Lewis’s vehicle “aggressively” following the victim’s vehicle; the deputy reported that Lewis “appeared to be chasing him, narrowly missing another collision.” The deputy conducted a traffic stop on both vehicles at the Melrose Fire Station.

The deputy’s investigation found that the victim was visiting the two-year-old child at Lewis’s residence when Lewis arrived home, intoxicated. Lewis and the victim got into an argument, and the victim said he feared it would escalate into something physical, so he picked up the child and ran to his vehicle for safety. He said that while they were driving away, Lewis jumped into her vehicle and accelerated past them, placed her vehicle directly in their path, and slammed on the brakes. The victim said he ran over a fence while trying to avoid hitting Lewis’s vehicle, but he was unable to avoid being hit by her vehicle.

Lewis allegedly chased the victim’s vehicle on County Road 219A, while the victim was holding the child and speaking with 911 dispatchers.

Witnesses at Lewis’s house reportedly said the victim was playing with the child when Lewis arrived and got into an argument with the victim; they said the victim grabbed the child, got into his vehicle, and left, and then Lewis got into her vehicle and chased the victim’s vehicle down the driveway. The witnesses saw the victim’s vehicle hit the fence, but they did not see what happened after the vehicles pulled out onto the roadway.

The deputy reported that the victim’s vehicle had pieces of a fence in the grill, along with damage to the rear quarter panel that corroborated the victim’s statement that his vehicle was hit by Lewis’s vehicle.

Post Miranda, Lewis reportedly said she tried to hug the child while she and the victim argued, but he picked up the child and ran to his vehicle. She said she chased him because he did not have a car seat, so she was concerned about the child’s safety.

Lewis has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated child abuse without great bodily harm for intentionally striking the victim’s vehicle, knowing a child was inside. She has no local criminal history, and Judge Joy Danne ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold her without bail until trial. However, the State Attorney’s Office later withdrew the motion, and Judge Danne set bail at $35,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.