Police revealed new details about what led to a deadly hit-and-run in Clayton County and prompted a manhunt that shut down an interstate for about seven hours Tuesday.
Investigators learned that 21-year-old David Robert James “located” a friend’s stolen pickup truck on I-675, Clayton County police said in a news release. The truck had been reported stolen out of DeKalb County.
How he found the stolen pickup truck remains unclear, but James ended up confronting the driver while driving his own vehicle on the interstate just before 4 p.m., the release said. An “altercation” of some type ensued, leading to both vehicles crashing into some nearby woods.
The pickup truck ended up on top of James’ Lincoln LS, trapping him inside the vehicle and killing him, the release said. The truck’s driver ran away from the scene before authorities arrived.
The ensuing manhunt led to southbound travel on the interstate near Ga. 42 being shut down until 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, AJC.com previously reported. As of Wednesday, authorities had not found the suspect.
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At the scene, a Yamaha motorcycle was visible among the wreckage, and police said it had been stolen out of Clayton County. It was strapped to the bed of the stolen pickup truck during the incident.
No other information has been released.
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