HAMPTON, Ga. — A man from Miami is wanted after a wild and dangerous chain of events that included a shooting, multiple crashes and a police chase.
It all started the morning of Saturday, Feb. 10, along North Expressway in Hampton. A man, who didn't want to be identified because the suspect is still wanted, said he and his 10-year-old son were going to get some tires for his truck.
"As we were coming through town up by the RaceTrac, a man decided to cut me off in traffic," he explained, adding, "After I honked, he brake-checked me and we ended up having a small accident."
He said he tried to pull around the driver he rear-ended to get off the highway. As he was pulling around him to drive to the RaceTrac gas station parking lot, he said that's when the shots rang out.
"My son is actually the one who saw it. He turned around, seen the flash of light come out, and screamed, 'He's shooting at us!" he explained.
The man said it took him a second to realize what was actually happening.
"The dings I was hearing was bullets going through my truck. One of them actually fell in my boot," he said.
The man said at this point, his only thought was to get his son out of this situation.
"So, I took off, and it turned into a high-speed chase," he explained. "I was trying to put as much distance between me, him and my kid. That was the only thought in my brain: get my kid away from him."
In the meantime, he said he dropped his phone on the floorboard, and his son called 911. His goal was to get them to the Hampton Police Department, which was just a couple miles away.
On the way there, he admits he ran a red light, which caused a crash, but he knew if he stopped, this guy might continue to shoot at him and his son.
"That's where I was going (Hampton Police Department) because I had no way to defend myself," he explained.
Once they got to the police department, he said Hampton Police officers were waiting with their guns drawn.
However, he said, somehow, he managed to escape.
Hampton Police identified the suspect as Micahel Alexander Hall Whitehead of Miami. Police said while Whitehead did initially stop, he refused the officers' commands, then jumped back in his vehicle and "began to fall, striking a City of Hampton police car."
Hampton PD then initiated a pursuit down Main Street until Whitehead tried to make a turn near Emory Street, where he hit a driver head-on at the intersection.
He wasn't seriously hurt but Whitehead was taken to the hospital. Troopers say the woman Whitehead hit suffered serious injuries and was also rushed to the hospital.
At some point, Whitehead walked out of the hospital and hasn't been seen since. This has the man he shot at on edge and always looking over his shoulder. It's also why he didn't want to be identified.
He said even his son is now worried since they have been out, they might run into the suspect.
Whitehead is facing a number of charges from both Hampton Police and the Spalding County Sheriff's Office.
Anyone who has information is asked to call the Spalding County Sheriff's Office Tip Line at (770) 412-4399 or Hampton Police at (770) 946-4513.