The motorist who remains at large after police say he plowed into a MARTA bus stop while attempting to flee officers in south Fulton County has been identified as 43-year-old Alan D. Richardson.
Richardson, whose license has been suspended eight times, had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a sexual battery charge, Fairburn police Sgt. Anthony Bazydlo said.
The chain of events leading up to the crash began about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when a Fairburn officer made a traffic stop on U.S. 29.
"As the officer approached the suspect vehicle, the driver accelerated quickly and fled the scene," Fairburn police Sgt. Anthony Bazydlo said. "The suspect turned off his headlights while doing so."
Bazydlo said Richardson turned onto Ga. 138 eastbound and sped toward Union City.
"Fairburn officers attempted to catch up but were unable to," Bazydlo said, adding that the Fairburn officers called off the pursuit after losing sight of Richardson's vehicle.
"One officer continued up Hwy. 138 at normal speeds and discovered the suspect had crashed into a SUV a half-mile further down the road," Bazydlo said.
Two people in the SUV sustained injuries that Bazydio said were non-life threatening.
After hitting the SUV, Richardson's vehicle slammed into a MARTA bus stop shelter just before I-85, demolishing the structure and injuring several pedestrians.
Bazydlo said one of those hurt, a 31-year-old woman, remained hospitalized at Grady Memorial Hospital with serious injuries late Friday morning. The others suffered minor injuries, he said.
Richardson was trapped inside the wrecked Dodge Charger, but was able to climb out the car's sunroof and run away.
"Two additional occupants in the suspect vehicle did not flee and were cooperating with police," Bazydlo said.
Warrants have been issued for Richardson's arrest on multiple charges, including reckless driving, fleeing/attempting to elude police, driving while license suspended and other minor traffic offenses.
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