COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A deputy's "only option" was to fire his weapon at the driver of a U-Haul after he fled from authorities, tried to hit cars on the road and swerved toward patrol cars trying to pass him, the Coweta County Sheriff's Office said.
It started just after 9 p.m. on Sunday in Newnan when they received a 911 call stating that someone in a U-Haul truck was trying to break into a trailer at the BP truck stop at exit 41.
A deputy located the truck at the Pilot truck stop and saw two men standing behind the back of an open trailer, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. The two men ran toward the U-Haul and sped off onto the highway.
As the truck entered the highway, it hit a car head on, the sheriff's office said. Both people in that car were injured and transported to the hospital.
They said the truck continued speeding along Highway 29 -- attempting to hit other vehicles and running them off the road. They said when deputies would try to pass him, he would swerve toward their patrol cars.
"We tried to use stop sticks three more times," the news release said. "The driver of the U-Haul had NO regard for the safety of the citizens on the roadway. He would try to hit every car he came up to."
The sheriff's office said that a decision was made to use deadly force when it entered onto Interstate 85 and was a "last resort and only option at this time."
A deputy fired his weapon into the truck, striking the driver, identified as 45-year-old Jackie Harris. The truck immediately struck the interstate wall and came to a stop.
Harris was given medical treatment at the scene and transported to Atlanta Medical Center, where he is being treated. The passenger in the U-Haul, Mario Keen, 42, was transported to Piedmont Newnan Hospital for treatment and released to the Coweta County jail. There were no officers injured during this incident.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation, the agency said on Monday. Once the investigation is completed, the case file will be turned over to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office for review.
This is the 79th officer involved shooting the GBI has been requested to investigate in 2020, they said.