Facedown and Motionless on a U.S. Interstate Shoulder May Have Been the Best Outcome for Her

Police who drive interstate highways likely are used to the sight of motorists slowing way down once they notice cop cars on patrol.

So when a St. Louis County police officer observed a car whiz past him at around 85 mph, that perked up his interest.

Little did the officer know that was merely the first infraction in a bizarre and frightening encounter Monday afternoon on Interstate 44, KTVI-TV in St. Louis reported.

The next oddity the officer noticed? The driver had an arm out the car window, flashing him an obscene gesture.

As you might imagine, he cranked up his emergency lights and pursued the vehicle headed west.

Just moments after this screen shot, the officer and the woman are reportedly seen on the highway's left shoulder. (Image source: KTVI-TV)

But the driver didn't speed up in response; instead, the driver immediately slammed on the brakes and stopped the car in the middle of the highway, prompting three following motorists to swerve in order to avoid a collision.

Then a woman exited the car, police said, and began to run down the interstate...while singing the national anthem.

The officer chased her on foot, yelling for her to stop. While she did as the officer asked, police said that was accompanied by her yelling, "Martin Luther King" at the cop.

Then she jumped into the path of an oncoming car.

[sharequote align="center"]"That's getting tased."[/sharequote]

The car swerved to avoid hitting her, and then the officer drew his stun gun and fired, which brought the incident to an end.

The tasing and aftermath were caught on video by a passing motorist who sent the clip to KTVI. On the video, a child can be heard asking what's happening between the woman and the officer, and a woman calmly answers, "That's getting tased."

As of Tuesday the woman, identified as a 42-year-old Texas resident, was at a hospital receiving a psychiatric evaluation, and no charges had been filed, police said.