An Alto man who fled from law enforcement during a high-speed chase over the weekend has turned himself in to authorities. Officials say Earnest Rayshawn Hunter fled, first in his vehicle, then on foot, as Habersham County deputies tried to stop him for speeding.
According to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy clocked a driver going over 100 miles per hour on GA 365 North near Crane Mill Road just after midnight Saturday. As the driver attempted to flee from the pursuing deputy, he threw items out his car window, striking the pursuing patrol vehicle.
“The pursued vehicle struck a set of Stop Sticks, which was deployed by Demorest Police Department at the intersection of Demorest Mt Airy Highway and deflated his front passenger-side tire,” says Habersham Sheriff’s Lt. Matthew Wurtz. “The vehicle continued north and exited onto Highway 197 where the vehicle struck a guardrail.”
The chase continued several more miles south on Highway 197. It ended when the fleeing driver wrecked in the parking lot of A1 Tire in Mt. Airy, striking several vehicles.
Wurtz says the driver, later identified as Hunter, exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. State and local law enforcement officers spent several hours early Sunday searching for Hunter in the area of GA 197 and Dicks Hill Parkway near where he wrecked. They were unable to locate him. The 29-year-old Hunter later turned himself in at the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, says Wurtz.
Deputies charged Hunter with speeding, fleeing and attempting to elude, failure to maintain lane, littering, reckless driving, failure to stop for a stop sign, and obstruction of an officer. As of Monday afternoon, August 9, he remained in the Habersham County Detention Center on a $10,900.00 bond.
