A driver who allegedly refused to stop Tuesday afternoon for a Georgia State Patrol trooper apparently had a good reason; he was traveling with 15 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, investigators said.
Around 2:25 p.m., a trooper tried to stop the driver of a Jeep Cherokee for failing to maintain his lane on I-85 southbound at Ga. 316 in Gwinnett County, according to Gordy Wright, GSP spokesman.
Instead of stopping, the Jeep continued south on I-85 and exited at Beaver Ruin Road, Wright said.
"While attempting to turn east on Beaver Ruin, the driver of the Jeep lost control, hit a vehicle and the concrete median, overturned and came to rest on another vehicle," Wright said in an email.
Drivers in the Jeep and the vehicle it landed on were transported to the hospital for treatment.
Wright identified the Jeep's driver as Joel Martinez, 32, of Michoacan, Mexico.
Martinez is being charged with drug trafficking after troopers found 15 pounds of meth, also known as ice, in his vehicle, Wright said. The estimated value of the drugs is at least $300,000.
Martinez was booked into the Gwinnett County jail shortly after 7 p.m. following his release from the hospital, according to online booking records. Jail records list the suspect's name as Joel Martinez-Espino.
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