Gwinnett County divers searched a Lilburn-area lake again Tuesday morning for a motorist accused of hitting a patrol car, driving away, crashing again and fleeing on foot in the direction of the lake. But investigators weren't sure if the man went into the water at all.
Javon K. Depass, 25, of Snellville, allegedly struck a marked patrol car shortly after midnight Sunday near the intersection of U.S. 78 and Lake Lucerne Road and continued driving, according to Cpl. Edwin Ritter with the Gwinnett police department.
The officer in the patrol car was treated at the hospital and released.
Depass then struck a utility pole on Lake Lucerne Road near St. Moritz Drive, police said. Following that collision, investigators said, the man is believed to have jumped out of his vehicle and run toward the lake.
A police dog tracked the man's scent to the water, but lost it, Ritter said. Depass's wallet and other papers with his name were found, but he wasn't, police said.
When Depass failed to return home, his family notified police.
"There's evidence that he was intoxicated, and his family has not heard from him since the accident," Cpl. Jake Smith told Channel 2 Action News.
The Gwinnett fire department's Swift Water Rescue Team was called to the lake Monday afternoon, along with a police cadaver dog, Ritter said.
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