A police chase in Habersham ended with a collision Sunday night near Mt. Airy. It was one of several high-speed chases involving local law enforcement during the long Memorial Day weekend.
According to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, deputies checked a red motorcycle traveling at extremely high speed just before midnight Sunday on GA 365 northbound near Anderson Village in Alto.
“The motorcyclist failed to stop when deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop at 11:51 p.m. and fled northbound, getting out ahead of deputies as they passed through the intersection at Demorest-Mt. Airy Highway,” says Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore.
Collision with deputy
Moore says the motorcycle collided with a marked sheriff’s patrol Tahoe that was traveling north on GA 365 near Highway 197 South.
Troopers from Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa investigated the crash. According to their preliminary report, the deputy driving the Tahoe “was weaving between both lanes in an attempt to slow the vehicle.”
The fleeing motorcyclist was “following too closely” and struck the Tahoe’s rear driver’s side, the report states.
After the initial impact, the motorcycle continued traveling north off the left shoulder of the highway. It then traveled back across the left lane of travel. The driver lost control, and the bike overturned off the left shoulder of the roadway.
The sheriff’s office vehicle sustained a flat tire and was damaged where the motorcycle struck it but remained operable, Moore says.
The crash shut down one lane of GA 365 northbound until about 2:45 a.m. Monday.
The motorcyclist was injured but refused treatment, according to the state patrol. Authorities identified him as Bradley Jamal Street, 28, of Morrow.
Deputies charged Street with driving under the influence, two counts of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, speeding (101 in a 65-mph zone), expired or no driver’s license, reckless driving, no proof of insurance, registration and license requirements, following too closely, and failure to maintain lane.
Chase-related wrecks in Habersham
This is at least the fourth chase-related wreck involving Habersham County deputies since last year.
A motorcyclist was critically injured last June when he crashed into the back of an SUV on Highway 441 after being pursued by a Habersham County deputy into Banks County.
On April 1, 2022, the sheriff’s office says a driver wrecked his car on GA 365 near Double Bridge Road while being pursued by specialized traffic patrol units. And on March 28, 2022, a motorcyclist survived a fiery crash in which his bike split in two after ramming into a Habersham County patrol car on GA 365 North near Level Grove Road.
SEE ALSO
Dahlonega man arrested after chase through Habersham and White counties
