An early morning high-speed chase through Stephens County on Sunday ended when a driver wrecked and fled on foot. He left behind a stolen vehicle carrying various drugs and a loaded AK47 assault rifle, troopers say.
According to the GSP report, around 7:35 a.m. on March 20, a trooper from Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa spotted a white Honda Accord speeding southbound on GA 365/17.
“The Trooper activated his emergency light, and the driver of the Honda fled,” says Post 7 commander Donnie Sadler. “The Honda driver reached speeds of 114 miles plus before turning left onto State Route 145.”
As it sped toward Toccoa, the Honda ran several vehicles off the road. At one point, the fleeing driver quickly applied his brakes. That caused the trooper to pull alongside the Honda, Sadler says, and the Honda struck the trooper’s Dodge Charger on the front corner of the driver’s side.
Topping speeds at over 100 mph, the Honda led the trooper down several streets south of the city and the driver again brake-checked the trooper. The patrol vehicle struck the Honda’s rear bumper twice. In town, at Skyview Lane and Alley Street, the trooper conducted a PIT maneuver causing the Honda to spin out, but the Honda kept fleeing.
The approximate 9-mile chase finally ended near the intersection of Davis Avenue and Pond Street when the Honda ran a stop sign and hit a curb. The driver fled on foot, leaving the vehicle in drive. The Honda rolled into the trooper’s vehicle. The trooper was not hurt.
Authorities are still searching for the unidentified driver who is described only as a black male.
According to Sadler, the Honda was reported stolen. Troopers from Post 7 along with officers from the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office and Toccoa Police Department found the loaded assault rifle and drugs inside the abandoned vehicle. The case remains open and the search for the suspect driver continues.
