Three children and a woman were hospitalized after a Gwinnett County man led a state trooper on a chase before crashing on I-85 in Coweta County, officials said.
Trooper Lindsey Barber clocked Mario Dewayne Anderson at 118 mph and tried to pull him over just before midnight Saturday, the Georgia State Patrol told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Anderson, 31, sped north on the interstate instead of stopping, officials said.
Anderson exited onto Highway 27 before returning to I-85 using the southbound exit and driving the wrong way on the interstate, the GSP said.
Troopers said Anderson’s Fiat struck a barrier before a Ford F-150 collided with the Fiat and caught on fire, officials said.
There were three children, ages 8, 10 and 11, and two adults inside the pickup truck.
One of those children and a woman were trapped inside the F-150 as flames erupted, GSP spokeswoman Sgt. Katie Thompson told Channel 2 Action News.
Barber rushed to help.
“When I arrived on scene, (Barber) actually had used all of her fire extinguisher and they had to use mine to make sure the fire was completely out,” Thompson said.
The children were taken to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta and the woman was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. She suffered severe head trauma and broke her leg and pelvis, officials said.
The driver of the truck was not injured, according to the GSP.
Anderson was taken to Coweta County jail after officials conducted a medical evaluation.
He remained in jail Monday on multiple charges, including DUI, endangering a child, reckless driving and driving on the wrong side of the road.
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