A Forsyth County deputy left a traffic stop when an alleged drunken driver nearly hit him and the stopped vehicle on the side of Ga. 400, authorities said.
“Have a nice night. I’m gonna go get him,” the deputy is heard saying on dashcam video, obtained by Channel 2 Action News on Friday.
The suspect, 45-year-old Claude Cline, then took deputies, police and troopers on a chase through two counties before crashing his black SUV on I-75, Channel 2 reported. The Georgia State Patrol promptly arrested him after the New Year’s Day incident.
Forsyth County sheriff’s Cpl. Doug Rainwater told the news station the deputy could easily have been injured when Cline allegedly violated Georgia’s move-over law.
“All of a sudden, he feels this wind and this vehicle passing him — within inches,” Rainwater said. “Move over, so the safety of that deputy and the safety of the driver who (was) stopped is all taken care of.”
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The deputy is heard saying on dashcam video that the car he was standing next to “shook” when Cline allegedly drove by.
The chase was handed off to Alpharetta and Roswell police once Cline entered their jurisdictions, and the Georgia State Patrol is the agency that ended up making the arrest after he crashed on I-75, the news station reported.
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Cline, of Cumming, faces several charges, including DUI, hit-and-run, eluding police, several traffic citations and violating Georgia’s move-over law, according to a sheriff’s office incident report. He has since bonded out of jail.
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