By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

Dexter Lashawn Smith was too busy striking his ex-girlfriend to keep his car on the road, police said.

Meriwether County deputies witnessed the assault and pulled Smith's vehicle over late Friday night, ending a kidnapping situation that began earlier at the Sleep Inn in Peachtree City, police said.

Smith, 28, of Newnan, abducted his ex-girlfriend from the motel parking lot after

11 p.m., police said. Smith pulled the 18-year-old victim from her car and placed her in his car, police added.

Smith had driven as far as the Gay area in Meriwether County before deputies spotted him, DuPree said.

“Originally, he was driving recklessly because he was battering her,” said Maj. Mike DuPree of the Peachtree City Police Department.

The vehicle had already left the Peachtree City limits when the incident was reported, DuPree said. A relative of the victim pursued Smith's car and used a cell phone to notify police of the vehicle's location, he added.

Police also issued a warning to area police agencies to stop Smith's vehicle, but DuPree was not sure if Meriwether County officers received that notice before they began the traffic stop.

Smith was arrested on the scene for battery by the Meriwether County authorities, and he will face additional kidnapping and battery charges from Peachtree City, DuPree said.

The victim, who also lives in Newnan, was planning to stay at the Sleep Inn with relatives, DuPree said.

There is no indication that a weapon was used in the abduction, DuPree added.