A 15-year-old driver who sped away from a Cornelia Police officer during an attempted traffic stop wound up upside down in an overturned car on South Main Street in Cornelia.
The accident happened around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, October 8, just north of Yonah Street. Eleven minutes earlier, Cornelia Police say Officer Alex Rivera saw the car run a stop sign at the intersection of Industrial and Wayside Street.
“Officer Rivera pulled in behind the Black Hyundai and activated his blue lights signaling to the driver to pull over and stop,” says Assistant Cornelia Police Chief Jonathan Roberts. “Failing to stop for the blue lights and accelerating to over 80 MPH, Officer Rivera discontinued the chase because the offense was considered minor.”
The Black Hyundai continued traveling on South Main Street at a high rate of speed, Roberts says. Officer Rivera turned off his blue lights, slowed down, notified dispatch he was no longer in pursuit. Officer Rivera continued on South Main Street and lost sight of the Hyundai in a sharp curve. As he rounded the curve, Roberts says, Rivera discovered the Hyundai overturned on its roof.
The teen driver who wrecked suffered a small scratch, according to police. After checking on the driver, Officer Rivera took him into custody.
“Habersham EMS, as well as the juvenile’s parents, were called the scene where medical treatment for a small scratch was refused by the parent on behalf of the juvenile,” says Roberts.
The section of South Main Street near the crash site was blocked for approximately an hour as crews cleared the wreckage.
The driver was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, failure to stop at a stop sign and failure to maintain lane, according to Major Chief Roberts.
The case has been turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
This article has been updated to reflect that the driver was not taken to the hospital for treatment
