A Carnesville man faces multiple traffic charges after leading law enforcement on a three-and-a-half-mile chase through Lavonia, the state patrol says.
Authorities arrested 34-year-old Robert Lee Smith after a trooper pinned his vehicle against the wall of a building on East Main Street.
Hart County deputies began pursuing the Volkswagen Jetta on Lankford Road near Ridgeview Road. Shortly before 10 p.m. on October 24, state troopers joined in the chase.
“After two unsuccessful attempts to end the pursuit by Hart County Deputies, the suspect deliberately struck the front of a trooper’s vehicle with its front,” says Sgt. Ray Dean of Georgia State Patrol Post 52 in Hartwell.
Dean says the fleeing driver, later identified as Smith, continued driving recklessly through the streets of Lavonia.
“While attempting to turn left onto East Main Street from Grogan Street, the suspect lost control and the front right of the Volkswagen struck a set of concrete stairs,” he says.
After impact, the Volkswagen traveled across East Main Street on its driver’s side wheels. It settled back on all four wheels in the roadway and a trooper conducted a successful PIT maneuver, pinning the Volkswagen against the wall.
There were no injuries.
Officers arrested Smith at the scene without further incident. Sgt. Dean says he was wanted out of Franklin County. Smith faces multiple traffic charges, including felony fleeing, reckless driving, and driving under the influence.
