A state trooper attempted three PIT maneuvers to stop a high-speed chase on I-85 in DeKalb County on Friday morning before it ended in a crash, authorities said.
The first time the trooper positioned his patrol car to stop the speeding blue Honda SUV, the Honda stopped but soon recovered. The other two times, the driver, identified as 25-year-old Cortez Lofton, avoided the cruiser by quickly steering out of the way or braking abruptly, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
The trooper tried to pull over the Honda for speeding around 1:45 a.m. on I-85 North near Buford Highway, but Lofton kept going, the GSP said. That’s when the trooper tried the first PIT maneuver, and Lofton exited the interstate onto North Druid Hills Road.
“Just south of Briarcliff Road, the trooper attempted to PIT the vehicle again,” a spokesman for the GSP said in a statement. “The SUV averted the PIT by counter-steering and turning right into an adjacent drive.”
The trooper tried the third maneuver near Mt. Mariah Road, but Lofton braked and collided with the cruiser, the spokesman said. The Honda turned around and headed back down North Druid Hills Road toward I-85.
The chase ended on the entrance ramp to the interstate when the Honda hit a guardrail and crashed. The trooper was not far behind and cornered the Honda with his cruiser to keep it from taking off again, the GSP said.
“After the driver exited his vehicle, he laid down in front of it on his stomach,” the spokesman said. “The trooper arrested the driver without incident.”
Lofton was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital to be checked for injuries. His charges were not disclosed.
No one else was injured and, aside from the cruiser and the Honda, no other vehicles were damaged, according to the GSP.
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