A woman’s frantic 911 call from a gas station bathroom led to a high-speed chase through Cobb County on Sunday morning and the arrest of a man on kidnapping and multiple rape charges, police said.
The caller told dispatchers she locked herself inside a bathroom at a Texaco on South Marietta Parkway and Manget Street after the man kidnapped and sexually assaulted her and drove away in her van, Marietta police spokesman Officer Chuck McPhilamy said.
All officers in the area were put on high alert around 9:04 a.m. Soon after, Marietta officers spotted the stolen van going east on South Marietta Parkway near Cobb Parkway.
The driver, later identified as 27-year-old Andrew Head of Marietta, didn’t stop, McPhilamy said. The chase continued onto southbound Cobb Parkway and then westbound on South Cobb Drive.
The pursuit reached high speeds through oncoming traffic, and several times Head reportedly tried to ram the van into police cruisers.
“The pursuit ended on South Cobb Drive between Fairground Street and Atlanta Road when the suspect swerved the stolen van into another civilian vehicle, causing a serious auto accident,” McPhilamy said.
Head and the other driver were taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
Police later arrested Head on three counts of rape and a single count each of robbery by force, kidnapping and attempting to elude police.
He was also charged with traffic violations and two counts of aggravated assault on an officer, according to police. More charges are expected once Cobb County police conclude an investigation into the crash. He remains in jail without bond, according to Cobb County District Attorney’s office.
The condition of the other driver was not known Monday.
Head did not know the woman he is charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting for 45 minutes.
“We don’t see many crimes like this," McPhilamy told Channel 2 Action News. "This is one of the more severe things that we have seen in quite a while.”
