VAN NUYS : Woman Sentenced in High-Speed Chase

A North Hollywood woman has been sentenced to four months in jail for leading police on a high-speed chase while her 5-year-old son sat screaming in the passenger seat without a seat belt, authorities said Tuesday.

Teresa Ann Weidenfeller, 33, was sentenced Monday after pleading no contest in Van Nuys Municipal Court to misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and hit-and-run driving.

Driving a 1985 Pontiac Firebird and reaching speeds up to 70 m.p.h., Weidenfeller ran a stop sign and five red lights during the Feb. 24 pursuit, Deputy City Atty. Kjehl T. Johansen said, adding that Weidenfeller hit two other cars during the chase, injuring two motorists.

Police initially pulled over Weidenfeller on Van Nuys Boulevard--almost in front of the criminal courthouse--after observing her speeding and making unsafe lane changes. But when she handed officers her passport and an identification card, she sped off and the chase began, Johansen said.

She was captured when police trapped her vehicle in a parking lot near Victory Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon.

During a search after her arrest, police said they found a cocaine pipe in Weidenfeller’s purse.

Weidenfeller’s son was not injured during the incident. The boy was turned over to his father’s custody, police said. Commissioner Mitchell Block ordered Weidenfeller to attend parenting classes as part of a two-year probation.

Weidenfeller was originally scheduled for a trial March 21, but did not appear. She was considered a fugitive until April 12, when she was arrested for petty theft. She pleaded no contest to that charge Thursday and was sentenced to 10 days in jail for that offense.