A 17-year-old girl was killed and six other people were taken to the hospital after a high-speed chase involving the Georgia State Patrol ended with a multi-car crash in downtown Atlanta on Saturday, according to state officials.
The teenager was identified as D’yonni Davis in a GoFundMe campaign set up by her family. They are raising money to transport her body to her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and pay for her funeral service.
“My 17-year-old daughter suddenly and tragically passed away in a car accident that was involved in a high-speed police chase,” her father, Darrion Lucius, wrote on the fundraising page.
The chase began on I-75 when state troopers attempted to stop a black Toyota Camry speeding at nearly 100 mph in a 55-mph zone, Channel 2 Action News reported. The driver did not stop and troopers pursued the car into Atlanta.
The Camry exited the Downtown Connector onto Ormond Street, where it continued to speed, according to a GSP accident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The car ran a red light at the intersection with Hank Aaron Drive and hit a Tesla Model 3 traveling north through the intersection, the report said.
That impact sent the Camry airborne, causing it to rotate and hit two more cars stopped on the other side of the red light, the report said. The Camry flipped in the process and its roof was torn open. All six passengers, none of whom were wearing seatbelts, were thrown from the car.
The driver of the Camry, 27-year-old Ronald Battle, ran from the scene, the report said. The car’s other occupants identified Battle as the driver and charges are pending against him, the crash report said, but it is not clear if he was taken into custody.
Two passengers, a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old, were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with serious injuries, according to the report. Two others, ages 22 and 19, were also taken to Grady with minor injuries.
The 42-year-old driver who was stopped at the Ormond Street red light and his 17-year-old passenger were taken to the hospital but were not seriously injured, the report said. Neither of the other two drivers involved were injured, but all four cars had to be towed.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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