A stock image of police tape.Photo: Getty
In a statement sent to PEOPLE, Georgia State Patrol captain and public information director Michael Burns said a suspect in a Ram 1500 pickup truck struck a Dodge Challenger during the chase in Atlanta.
“The impact caused the Dodge Challenger to leave the roadway where it struck a utility pole and became disabled,” the statement said. “The driver of the Dodge Challenger was pronounced deceased on scene.”
On April 8, Captain Burns revealed the suspect’s identity to PEOPLE as Ryan Hicks, 31, from Atlanta.
Burns also listed Hicks’ 14 misdemeanor charges: DUI drugs less safe, reckless driving, aggressive driving, driving in an emergency lane with no emergency, improper passing speeding, failure to maintain lane, disobeying traffic control device-red light, operating a vehicle with faulty equipment, following too closely, no seatbelt, tire requirements, failure to signal turns/lane changes and driving with a gore of median.
The chase began after the Atlanta Police Department (APD) requested state troopers to pursue the suspect at 2:57 p.m. local time on April 5.
“Officers told troopers that the Ram 1500 was involved in a pursuit from APD in previous days,” the statement added. “A trooper responded to the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Fairburn Road, where APD officers attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop, initiating a pursuit.”
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The suspect then entered Interstate 285 and started driving “in a reckless manner” before exiting onto State Route 166, heading west.
At the intersection of State Route 166 and Barge Road, the suspect “disobeyed a red light and struck a Dodge Challenger, which was traveling north on Barge Road,” the statement said.
Throughout the chase and during the crash, the state trooper’s car never made contact with the suspect’s car.
source: people.com
