Woodstock man killed in chase with Cobb police on I-75, GSP says

A Woodstock man was killed early Thursday after being ejected from an SUV during a police chase that shut down both sides of I-75 in Cartersville for about three hours, authorities said.

Benjamin Alstoft, 40, was being chased by Cobb County police in a Land Rover in the northbound lanes at about 3 a.m. when the officer performed a PIT maneuver, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

“The Land Rover then traveled through the median and struck the cable barrier,” GSP spokesperson Franka Young said in a statement. “The SUV began to overturn and traveled over the cable barrier into the southbound lanes of I-75.”

Alstoft died at the scene after being ejected near Exit 285, troopers said.

All lanes in both directions were initially closed, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office posted to social media. Northbound lanes fully reopened around 6:15 a.m., and southbound lanes reopened around 6:30 a.m.

Georgia Department of Transportation cameras showed traffic on the interstate backed up all the way north beyond Ga. 20 at Exit 290 around 6 a.m.