Men hurl drugs from car before police chase ends in deadly crash, Georgia cops say
Two men tossed drugs from a vehicle window while leading police on a high-speed chase that ended in a deadly crash, according to Georgia authorities.
The pursuit started around 10 p.m. March 20 in Lamar County, sheriff’s deputies said. State troopers were trying to stop a gold-colored Chevrolet Tahoe when the driver sped away.
Troopers gave chase as the Tahoe zoomed down the road, “recklessly passing motorists and driving in both lanes of traffic,” deputies said in a March 21 news release shared on Facebook. At one point, state police attempted a PIT maneuver, but it failed to end the chase.
Instead the Tahoe bumped the trooper’s patrol car, causing it to lose control and flip off the roadway.
The SUV continued to flee as deputies followed close behind, dash cam video shows. During the chase, authorities said the men inside hurled “suspected narcotics” out of the windows, authorities said.
“Assisting deputies were able to recover the marijuana and cocaine from the side of the roadway,” the release states.
Citing the “unsafe” speeds, deputies attempted a second PIT maneuver to get the SUV to stop. Dash cam footage showed the Tahoe swerve off the road and roll several times before landing on its roof.
The driver, a 39-year-old man from Barnesville, was airlifted to a hospital, deputies said. His passenger, a 41-year-old man also from Barnesville, died at the scene.
Georgia State Patrol is investigating the crash.
Lamar County is about 60 miles southeast of Atlanta.
This story was originally published March 23, 2023 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Men hurl drugs from car before police chase ends in deadly crash, Georgia cops say."