COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A fugitive led authorities on a wild and life-threatening chase through two counties, causing multiple vehicles to crash before he also crashed. Turns out Atlanta Police had been searching for him on violent felony charges.
It all unfolded after a fight at a Coweta County KFC turned into a chase, authorities said.
Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the restaurant along Highway 34 at Andrew Bailey Road in Sharpsburg around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The sheriff's office said a deputy already patrolling in the area was responding to the call and noticed a vehicle matching dispatch's description was leaving the KFC as he arrived. When the deputy tried to perform a traffic stop on the vehicle, the driver kept going, according to the sheriff's office.
The Coweta County sheriff's deputy pursued the vehicle east on Highway 34. Four miles east of the KFC, at Fischer Road, authorities say the driver caused a multi-vehicle crash. One of the vehicles involved was a sheriff's office patrol car. The deputy is OK; however, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson did not have any information as of Tuesday night about injuries to others or if anyone was killed.
Deputies confirmed the chase finally ended about a mile and a half east of Fischer Road, just inside Fayette County, in Peachtree City. That's where the suspect crashed his vehicle, according to the Coweta County Sheriff's Office. Two people from that car were taken into custody, and the Sheriff's Office said one of them had an active warrant from Atlanta, for charges of aggravated assault and possession of a gun by a convicted felon.
Coweta County has a chase policy, and as of Tuesday night Sheriff's investigators were still pulling together the details of what happened, as it relates to their policy, and were also not ready to release the names of the suspects arrested, the conditions of those victims who were in the cars that crashed during the chase, or any information about the initial fight at the restaurant that led to the chase.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
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