A police chase on Ga. 400 that topped speeds of 130 mph ended rather slowly last week when the car rolled into Lake Lanier.
Its occupants had already abandoned the vehicle by the time it slipped over the shoreline and sunk to the bottom of the lake. Both the 18-year-old driver and a 19-year-old passenger were quickly taken into custody.
Forsyth County deputies began tailing the car early Saturday morning after clocking it going 90 mph, according to the sheriff’s office. They attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the driver continued going north, the agency said.
Dash camera footage released Thursday shows deputies chasing the vehicle down the dark, mainly empty freeway. At one point, the driver managed to lose one of his pursuers by taking the exit to Ga. 13 and quickly cutting back onto Ga. 400.
The chase reached speeds of 130 mph before the vehicle exited the freeway at Bald Ridge Marina Road, according to the sheriff’s office. It broke through a barrier arm at the marina, and the video shows one occupant jump out and take off on foot.
With the car still rolling, the driver got out of the vehicle and struggled to grab a bag from the backseat before the car door clipped an ice machine. The vehicle continued to roll into the lake, but the driver was ordered to put up his hands and get on the ground, the four-minute video shows.
Credit: Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
“One occupant was apprehended immediately while the others fled, but with the assistance of K-9 Ivo, were located shortly after hiding under the deck of the marina office,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “The car had to be towed out of the lake, and deputies learned it didn’t belong to the occupants but was borrowed from a friend.”
Deputies arrested the driver, 18-year-old Edward Anthony of Alpharetta, on charges of driving under the influence of drugs, obstruction, fleeing, reckless driving and failure to report striking a fixed object. His passenger, 19-year-old Angel De Los Santos Cruz of Johns Creek, was arrested on an obstruction charge.
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