A police chase from Marietta to Buckhead on Friday ended with the driver being shot after he crashed his SUV and set out on foot, authorities said.
The Georgia State Patrol said in a statement Friday night that "there was a shooting between the trooper and the suspect at the end of the pursuit." Channel 2 Action News, which was at the scene, reported that the suspect had been shot in the arm and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. His condition could not be learned immediately.
Nor was it clear from the State Patrol's statement whether the trooper involved was injured, or even whether the trooper and suspect had exchanged gunfire. The statement referred all inquiries about the shooting to the GBI.
The unidentified suspect led authorities on a wild chase that began at Ernest Barrett Parkway and Ga. 120, when police responded to a call about a man trying to set a fire near several propane tanks, Channel 2 reported. The man fled the scene in a black Chevrolet Suburban, driving out to I-75 and heading south, smashing into two vehicles as State Patrol cruisers gave chase.
“I tried to weave because he was cookin’,” Tim Foust, whose vehicle was hit, told Channel 2. “I tried to weave one direction and all of a sudden he was back behind me again, back behind me the other way and up into my rear end.”
A Channel 2 news crew was following the chase and interviewed Foust on the side of the road. The station said Foust was banged up but not seriously hurt, although the damage to his car was extensive.
The Suburban then exited on Howell Mill Road and made its way to Collier Road, heading toward the intersertion of Collier and Peachtree Road, the State Patrol said.
The SUV crashed into a parking deck attached to Piedmont Hospital at Collier and Road, and the suspect fled on foot. Some residents told Channel 2 that they heard a gunshot.
GBI spokesman Scott Dutton said by email Friday night that the agency had few details it was prepared to release.
"GBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Atlanta involving Georgia State Patrol," Dutton wrote. "Agents are on scene gathering facts and conducting interviews."
The authorities closed Collier Road for hours on Friday night as the investigation proceeded.
About the Author
