Speeding suspect had outstanding arrest warrant

A suspect led police on a high-speed chase through south Fayette and downtown Fayetteville Wednesday night before he stopped at the entrance to Fayette Pavilion with his car missing one wheel and running on three flat tires, police said.

At times, Brian Drummond would turn off the lights of his car and drive the wrong way on the road, said Sgt. Damon Riggins of the Georgia State Patrol, who pursued Drummond all the way from Meriwether County after clocking him for speeding at 72 miles per hour around 8:19 p.m.

There was a passenger in Drummond’s car, his girlfriend, who was “absolutely terrified” and wasn’t wearing a seat belt, Riggins said; her safety was one of the reasons the pursuit took so long, he added.

Fayette County sheriff’s deputies were able to slow Drummond down with “stop sticks” that punctured tires on his 1996 Mazda. But Drummond continued driving despite losing his left front tire and wheel during the latter part of the pursuit, said Capt. Bryan Woodie of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

After Drummond stopped in the center island of the Pavilion just off Ga. Highway 85, he began to run away but only got about 70 feet from his car, Woodie said. Drummond had apparently glanced backward briefly just before he ran into the patrol car of Lt. Scott Ward of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Woodie said.

Drummond later admitted he had been doing cocaine earlier in the day, Riggins said. He also told the trooper that he fled because of an outstanding arrest warrant against him from Gwinnett County.

“He knew when I turned around on him that he was going to jail,” Riggins said.

Fortunately, there were no close calls here in Fayette County as the suspect reached speeds of up to 100 mph while in the unincorporated county and up to 60 mph in the Fayetteville city limits, Woodie said. At times, Drummond drove on the wrong side of the road, including once when he almost ran over a sheriff’s deputy who was trying to deploy the “stop stick” spikes, Woodie said. The deputy had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, he added.

Some motorists pulled off the road to avoid Drummond when he would cross the center line, Riggins added.

Also, when the wheel came off near the Pavilion, the assembly landed on the hood and glanced off the windshield of Sgt. Riggins’ patrol vehicle. The trooper was still able to maintain pursuit, however.

Drummond, 29, is charged with driving under the influence (drugs), fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and speeding.

Drummond is also charged with assaulting a police officer because he tried to ram Riggins’ patrol car in Meriwether County, where the chase started after Drummond’s 1996 Mazda 626 was clocked going 72 mph on Ga. Highway 74/85 three miles north of Woodbury. Drummond first fled to a side road and then back to the highway, going north all the way through downtown Fayetteville, Riggins said.

Riggins said he considered using the “pit” maneuver to halt the pursuit by forcing Drummond’s car to spin out, but each time he tried to pull alongside Drummond, the suspect would swerve to keep the trooper at bay, Riggins said.

Riggins said Drummond was taking his girlfriend back to her home in Waverly Hall when he was clocked for the speeding violation.

Woodie said the pursuit was a collaboration between the state patrol, the Fayetteville police department and the Fayette sheriff’s department. Riggins added that the Woodbury and Senoia police departments also chipped in along with the Meriwether County Sheriff’s Department. A ranger from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources also participated in the pursuit.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office got about three minutes warning before the chase entered Fayette County and the entire incident lasted about 10 minutes, Woodie added.

The incident and the crash are being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol.