A Roswell police officer's attempt to pull over a black Audi sedan turned into a chase that blew through Cherokee County and into Pickens County at speeds topping 120 mph, ending only when deputies blocked the car near downtown Jasper. The driver told officers he was simply running late to meet a woman. He now faces felony fleeing and reckless driving charges instead.
According to Appen Media, the pursuit began in Cherokee County after the officer tried to initiate a traffic stop and the driver instead weaved through traffic, sped out of the officer's sight, and ran through traffic lights. The officer activated emergency lights and siren and headed north on Georgia 575, but the Audi soon sped past him in the emergency lane, prompting him to reactivate his equipment and try to catch up. Per the officer's report cited by the outlet, the sedan hit 120 mph before eventually reaching a top speed of 124 mph — a speed the report notes matched the maximum the Roswell patrol car itself could reach.
Driver Forces Another Car Off the Highway
As the chase extended into Pickens County, the Audi moved into the left shoulder and used it to pass other vehicles, at one point forcing another car off the highway and into the grass, per the officer's account relayed by Appen Media. The danger escalated further when the officer approached an intersection near Piedmont Mountainside Hospital and observed multiple emergency vehicles already on scene at an active accident. The fleeing Audi accelerated toward that emergency scene and its personnel before continuing on.
That moment forced a critical tactical decision. The Roswell officer determined a PIT maneuver could not be safely used given the conditions. In August 2024, Roswell Police alerted Forsyth County deputies during a pursuit; the deputies avoided a PIT maneuver in favor of spike strips, according to Hoodline's prior coverage of that case.
Handoff Across County Lines
Recognizing the pursuit had outrun his jurisdiction, the officer notified Roswell dispatchers and requested they alert the Pickens County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia State Patrol, while also reporting the driver directly to the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and to state troopers. He was ultimately advised to stop the pursuit himself. A state trooper was at the intersection, reentered his patrol car, and took up the chase, per the officer's report.
Pickens County deputies eventually blocked the Audi near downtown Jasper, and the driver was already in custody by the time the Roswell officer arrived on scene. He was arrested Tuesday, September 1, and charged with felony fleeing and reckless driving. When asked why he ran, the driver said he was running late to meet a woman.
A Pursuit That Crossed Three Jurisdictions
Georgia law requires every state, county, and local agency running emergency vehicle pursuits to maintain written policies for exactly this kind of scenario, including protocols for handing chases across jurisdictional lines, according to Justia Law. That structure is why this single chase moved through Roswell Police, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, Georgia State Patrol, and the Pickens County Sheriff's Office before it ended.
The felony fleeing charge stems from Georgia's fleeing-and-eluding statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-395. Georgia courts have also made clear that prosecutors must prove the pursuing officer was in a marked vehicle and visibly uniformed with a badge to sustain such a charge, following a January 2025 Georgia Supreme Court ruling that overturned a conviction where that evidence was missing, as detailed by the Richman Law Firm.
Part of a Broader Pattern on Georgia's Highways
The Highway 515/Georgia 575 corridor connecting suburban Atlanta to North Georgia was the setting for a Pickens County car theft case that crossed county lines, as Hoodline noted in its recent coverage of that case. According to the Georgia Department of Transportation's Regional Transit Development Plan, I-575 becomes State Route 515, also designated SR 5, in Pickens County. And the risks of these chases are well documented: an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation published in August 2024 found Georgia had a high police-pursuit fatality rate, with more than half of Georgia State Patrol pursuits between 2019 and 2023 resulting in crashes. According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety's 2009 Annual Report, the agency recorded 35 crashes and two other agency pursuit-related crashes that year.
State troopers have leaned harder into intercepting reckless and fleeing drivers across metro Atlanta in recent years. Crime suppression details ordered by the Georgia Governor's office have produced vehicle pursuits and reckless-driving charges. Some North Fulton agencies have opted for less dangerous alternatives entirely — in June, Sandy Springs officers used a bumper-mounted Grappler device to snag a suspect's tire on Roswell Road rather than launch a high-speed chase, a tactic Hoodline covered at the time.
