Nah, she turned up a one way lane and got stuck at the end behind a jersey barrier somewhere near the Capitol I think and was trying to get out, turn around or get through. All cops had to do was kill the car, not her, just shoot out the tires. Hell, they could have run up, shoved an apple or potato in the tailpipe, and the car would have quit running within about 10 seconds.
Police never try to shoot out tires during chases because it is extremely dangerous, largely ineffective, and against department policy in almost all cases. The first reason is that trying to shoot out the tires has a high risk of collateral damage. A bullet can miss the small, moving target of a tire and hit a person, another car, or ricochet off the road or vehicle. This exposes the public to unnecessary danger and serious liability for the police department.
The second reason is that tires are an unreliable target. Tires are not designed to "blow out" from a single gunshot like portrayed in some movies. Modern pistol rounds often create a slow leak, and the reinforced rubber and steel belts on tires can cause a bullet to deflect. The car can continue to drive for miles.
Then there's the possibility of loss of control. Even if the round instantly deflates a tire, it can cause the suspect's vehicle to become an out-of-control, multi-ton projectile. The vehicle could crash into other motorists, pedestrians, or buildings, creating a far greater threat than the initial pursuit.
Nor is shooting at a car's engine an effective way to stop it quickly and reliably. Most small-caliber rounds, such as those from handguns, will not penetrate a vehicle's engine block, which is designed to withstand powerful internal forces. While a very lucky shot could disable the engine, the car will still coast for a significant distance due to its momentum. An engine block is made of strong, thick metal (cast iron or aluminum) to contain thousands of controlled explosions per minute. This makes it highly resistant to penetration by common ammunition.
Even if a shot did seize the engine, the vehicle's momentum would carry it forward for some time. With an automatic transmission, there is no direct connection to the wheels, allowing the car to roll freely. A demonstration involving a running engine showed that low-caliber ammunition, including 9mm, 5.7mm, and .357 Magnum rounds, only caused minor damage like coolant leaks but failed to stop the engine.
To reliably penetrate an engine block, a powerful, large-caliber weapon is required. For example, a .50 BMG rifle with armor-piercing rounds is designed for this purpose, but it isn't not standard police equipment So most of the time the police fire on a vehicle, they aim for the driver-side area, hoping to score a hit on whomever is operating the vehicle.
(I didn't write all this. I had to use AI to put what I've always known into a coherent format.)
