ATLANTA — A man led police on a chase with a 2-month-old inside the car in Marietta Thursday afternoon, according to police. The Marietta Police said the chase began at a Motel 6 at the 2300 block of Delk Road after officers received a license plate reader notification that a man was wanted for strangulation --- an aggravated assault charge -- was in the area.
When officers approached the car in the parking lot of the motel, the 27-year-old man was sitting in the front passenger seat. He quickly refused verbal commands from officers, slid into the driver seat, and drove off hitting one of the officers with his car, according to police.
Officers said they followed him onto I-75 South. During the chase, dispatch told officers that a 911 caller advised that her 2-month-old baby was still inside of the car. The chase ended moments later, when the driver abruptly stopped the car, jumped out, and began running away. Officers began searching for him and they said they were able to quickly take him into custody, without further incident, after construction workers flagged officers spotted the man and flagged police down.
Before the end of the chase, Marietta Police said one of its officers had struck a landscaper while taking a sharp turn. The landscaper sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Atlanta Medical Center for Treatment, police said.
Additionally, the 2-month-old inside of the car was not injured and was taken to a local hospital for observation. The officer who was hit by the man also sustained minor injuries and didn't need to be taken to the hospital, according to Marietta Police.
The suspect was taken to Grady Medical Center, although he was not visibly injured, police said. He was later booked into Cobb County Adult Detention Center and faces a number of charges, including obstruction, cruelty to children in the second degree, fleeing/attempting to elude police, aggravated assault on an officer and reckless driving. Marietta Police said the initial outstanding warrants were from other metro Atlanta agencies.
