It’s happened countless times on metro Atlanta roads: A driver refuses to stop for police, sets off a chase, then crashes. This week it happened again, killing two people and injuring two others, the Georgia State Patrol said Friday.
A driver who allegedly failed to stop for a trooper was killed late Thursday, along with a passenger, after the 2002 Saturn they were in was driven the wrong way on I-85. A third person in the Saturn’s backseat was seriously injured when the car struck a black 2012 Infiniti G37 head-on, the State Patrol said.
The Infiniti driver, identified as Lisa Jackson of Alpharetta, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment, but her injuries were not believed to be serious.
The fatal crash happened the same week a bill was filed in the state Senate that would prevent law enforcement officers from pursuing someone unless that person was a suspect in a major crime. Such crimes include murder, aggravated battery, kidnapping, or an offense that creates an immediate threat of death or serious injury to another person.
State Sen. Gail Davenport, D-Jonesboro, one of the bill's sponsors, said the bill is a response to a police chase in January that ended with a crash that killed a woman and her two grandchildren on their way to church.
In the Thursday night crash, a trooper, whose name was not released, spotted the Saturn speeding on Buford Highway, according to the State Patrol.
A witness, K.J. Allison, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was driving northbound on Buford Highway when he saw blue lights flashing behind a Saturn driving southbound. The Saturn didn't stop, and instead made a U-turn and sped past Allison.
"He was flying," Allison said. "Absolutely flying."
Allison and other car moved out of the way to allow the trooper to continue the pursuit onto Clairmont Road. It wasnt' until later Thursday that Allison heard the news of the wrong-way crash and realized he'd seen the beginning of the chase.
When the Saturn’s driver turned right onto Clairmont Road, the trooper attempted a PIT maneuver, or precision immobilization technique, to stop the car. Using their patrol cars, officers can push a suspect’s vehicle and turn it sideways, bringing it to a stop.
But Thursday, the trooper’s first attempt to stop the Saturn wasn’t successful, and the car continued on Clairmont Road toward I-85, investigators said. When the Saturn made a left turn, driving southbound onto a northbound exit ramp, the trooper followed.
This time, the trooper was able to stop the Saturn, the State Patrol said in an emailed statement. But not for long.
“The pursuit ended with a successful PIT maneuver performed on the top of the ramp from I-85 southbound to Clairmont Road,” the State Patrol said. “This maneuver left the 2002 Saturn SL stopped partially in the first lane of I-85 South and partially on the ramp.”
The trooper exited his patrol car and ordered the Saturn driver to put his hands up. The driver did briefly, but then drove away, heading north into the southbound lanes of I-85, investigators said.
The trooper did not follow the Saturn the wrong way on the interstate, and instead got on the interstate driving north.
“He spotted what looked like a crash on I-85 South just before the off-ramp from I-85 South to Clairmont Road,” the State Patrol said. “The trooper continued north, turned around, and located the crashed Saturn.”
Both the Saturn’s driver and front-seat passenger died at the scene of the wreck, which happened around 10:50 p.m. Their names were not released Friday afternoon pending notification of family members. The name of the female in the backseat also was not released. She was taken to Grady for treatment, the State Patrol said.
The crash and the pursuit leading to it remained under investigation late Friday.
During a week in January, five innocent people were killed in crashes resulting from high-speed police chases. Legal experts have said that while a violent suspect should be chased, other lesser crimes don't warrant a pursuit.
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