WARREN, Mich. – A Macomb County court accepted a not guilty plea by reason of insanity this week from a Lake Orion woman who reportedly hit at least 11 people with her Jeep last fall.
Rachele Ricklefs, 30, was facing 18 felonies in connection to the September 2025 incident, during which prosecutors allege that she intentionally struck 10 pedestrians and one police officer in a string of hit-and-runs that occurred across multiple cities. Her 6-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son were also in the Jeep with her, police said, however the 12-year-old was reportedly able to escape the vehicle.
Recommended Videos
Ricklefs allegedly struck a cyclist in Royal Oak, two patrol cars in Clawson, a pedestrian in Hazel Park, and 8 pedestrians in Warren between the hours of 8 p.m. and midnight on Sept. 26 before she was apprehended by police in a Walmart parking lot, according to investigators.
Police reported at the time that Ricklefs may have been having a schizophrenic episode, prompting a psychological evaluation in the case.
Ricklefs was committed to the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry on Thursday upon completion of the psychological evaluation, which determined that she was not criminally responsible, according to court records.
All of the victims were in stable condition after the incident and her daughter was physically unharmed, police said.
Her charges included 10 counts of attempted murder, two counts of fleeing and eluding, two counts of malicious destruction of police property, two counts of malicious destruction of personal property, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer.