Suspect strikes 2 sheriff's cars; no injuries reported

A Clayton County man on parole for burglary charges led sheriff’s deputies on a chase early Wednesday morning after he refused to stop for a Peachtree City police officer, officials said.

The suspect struck two sheriff's units during the pursuit, and he also drove the wrong way on Ga. Highway 54 briefly in a bid to avoid deputies, said Lt. Col. Wayne Hannah of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect, identified as Jeremiah DuPriest Hand, 20, of Rex, Ga., was captured after a brief foot chase when his car crashed into a stone mailbox on Fayetteville Road in Fulton County near Ga. Highway 92, Hannah said.

The pursuit began around 7:30 a.m. when a sheriff’s deputy, traveling eastbound on Ga. Highway 54, noticed that Hand's vehicle, a 2000 Chevy Impala, was not pulling over for a Peachtree City patrol unit whose blue lights were flashing, Hannah said. The deputy, in a marked car ahead of the suspect, then activated his blue lights and moved his car over to coax Hand into stopping, Hannah said. At that point Hand's car struck the rear of the deputy's vehicle, and the deputy notified dispatch that he was in pursuit, Hannah said.

Another deputy and a Fayetteville police officer working a wreck on Hwy. 54 tried to lay out spikes to disable Hand's tires, but he swerved onto the opposite lanes of traffic, heading eastbound in the westbound lanes in a median cut near the Old Mill Fish and Grill, Hannah said.

Deputies had blocked westbound traffic on Hwy. 54 because of the pursuit, but that gave the suspect more room to work with, Hannah said. It also stymied the deputies behind Hand because they got caught up in eastbound traffic, Hannah said.

Hand turned left onto Gingercake Road where a waiting deputy deflated the vehicle's two right-side tires with spikes, Hannah said.

From that point, the chase slowed down from 80 mph to about 60 mph, but with no deputies in front of Hand and other traffic it was difficult to safely get ahead of him, Hannah explained. Hand then went north on Hwy. 92 and once into Fulton County he turned onto Fayetteville Road, where a sheriff's unit pulled ahead of him, Hannah said.

Hand's vehicle then struck that deputy's car, forcing Hand's car to strike the mailbox, enter a ditch and come to rest on an embankment, Hannah said.

Hand ran off into the woods and was tackled to the ground by another sheriff's deputy, Hannah said.

It was fortunate that no one was hurt, Hannah noted.

Hannah said Hand will likely face multiple charges, and officials are reviewing the in-car videotape of the pursuit to determine if assault charges are warranted for driving the wrong way on Hwy. 54.

It is not immediately clear what charges Peachtree City might file against Hand.
Hand was paroled in September for a burglary offense in Clayton County, according to records from the state prison system.