A 19-year-old driver of a stolen U-Haul was arrested Tuesday after nearly hitting two DeKalb officers, going airborne and crashing into a fence at a MARTA station, police said.
The officers pursued the U-Haul into southeast Atlanta after first trying to pull over the vehicle on Candler Road near I-20. A DeKalb officer was coming off the interstate around 6 a.m. when he saw the U-Haul stop in the middle of the intersection while the light was green, according to a police report obtained by AJC.com.
Police later learned the U-Haul had allegedly been stolen from a location on Candler Road earlier that morning.
The truck came to a stop but then began to pull away again, police said. One officer got out of his patrol car and pointed his handgun at the driver and a passenger, telling them to put their hands up.
They did not comply, an officer wrote in the report.
“While the van attempted to get away, the van nearly struck (the first officer) and then almost struck my vehicle head-on,” the officer said.
A short time later, the passenger got out on Ember Drive and was detained by police. The driver, Christopher Arline of Decatur, kept going, police said.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
The U-Haul continued onto Candler Road and Memorial Drive, and officers followed behind “at moderate speed,” according to the report. It came to a stop at the Inman Park-Reynoldstown MARTA station, where the truck hit a curb and crashed into a fence. Surveillance video obtained by Channel 2 Action News showed the truck go airborne for several seconds.
Arline took off running but officers quickly caught up with him, police said.
He was arrested on a charge of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and misdemeanor charges of theft by receiving stolen property and obstruction. Atlanta police also charged Arline with driving without a license, failure to maintain lane and striking a fixed object.
His passenger is not facing charges.
Arline is being held in the DeKalb County Jail.
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