'Just driving, bro': Woman who killed marshal in high-speed chase said she was 'trying to get away,' police say

A 34-year-old Indiana woman is accused of killing a town marshal, allegedly striking him with a stolen van as she was attempting to evade police during a high-speed chase.

Maci Marquelle Atkinson is facing multiple felonies, including counts of murder, attempted aggravated battery, and causing death while operating a motor vehicle with a controlled substance in her system in connection with the death of Lynn town Marshal Brad Fisher, court records show.

The fatal crash happened July 29 after a Randolph County sheriff's deputy spotted a van that had been reported stolen near County Roads 400 West and 50 South. Atkinson, the alleged driver, initially pulled over before speeding away and triggering a police pursuit, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Investigators said Atkinson sped through the streets at about 90 mph, disregarding traffic signs as she tried to avoid arrest, local NBC affiliate WTHR reported.

As the chase continued, Fisher prepared to deploy tire deflation devices along U.S. 36, reportedly saying over the radio that he was "going to try and get sticks out," according to the court documents.

Prosecutors allege Atkinson then steered the van toward Fisher, fatally striking him on his right side before the vehicle crashed into a parked dump truck. Fisher, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement, died in the crash, Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN reported.

After the van was stopped, Atkinson refused to exit the vehicle, despite repeated demands from law enforcement.

"Make me," she reportedly responded.

Officers deployed a Taser on Atkinson as she attempted to escape through a window. She also allegedly tried to punch a deputy before attempting to stab him.

"I didn't mean to, you should have left me alone," Atkinson said after being handcuffed.

Atkinson was later told that she had struck Fisher with the stolen van.

"I hope he's OK, I f—ing lost control," she responded, according to the documents.

During a hospital interview, Atkinson questioned why Fisher had moved away from his vehicle and insisted she had been trying to escape rather than intentionally hit him.

"Why would he f—ing run out the opposite way of his God-d— car, that's dumber than f—, I wasn't trying to wreck, I was trying to get away, or I was trying to hurt myself, I guess," she said, according to WXIN.

Investigators recovered a syringe from the van and toxicology tests on Atkinson came back positive for methamphetamine, fentanyl and methadone.

Atkinson told investigators she had taken the van because she did not have a phone to ask the family member who owned it whether she could use it. She said she panicked after initially stopping for police.

"I was just driving, bro, that's all I was doing," Atkinson reportedly said. "I really didn't have no destination, I was trying to get out of Indiana honestly."

She said she intended to drive until the van ran out of gas and claimed she was trying to avoid the tire deflation devices because she feared crashing.

"As soon as I hit that grass, and I seen him jump… I jerked the wheel so I could miss him, but the van went sideways," Atkinson reportedly explained. "I don't know where he got hit at, or where the van struck him at, I don't know, I f—ed up so bad."

Atkinson continued to deny that she meant to hit Fisher.

"If you're going to charge me with murder, I didn't," she said. "If I hit [the sticks], I'm going to wreck, and I'm gonna wreck and hurt me, hurt someone else, an innocent bystander, and they don't deserve that, nobody deserved anything that happened."

She later said she had not known who Fisher was and had been trying to reach a cornfield where she could abandon the van.

"I'm not even worried about myself," Atkinson said. "I'm just mad at myself that I took an innocent life, not intentionally, and I deserve to spend the rest of my life behind bars. That is not what I meant to do."

Randolph County Prosecutor Jason Welch has asked the court to impose life without parole if Atkinson is convicted of murder, the Star reported.

Atkinson is being held in the Randolph County Jail without bond and is scheduled to appear in court for her initial hearing on Sept. 14, records show.