FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has learned that a 14-year-old boy was behind the wheel during a chase with officers that ended with a crash in a Fayette County neighborhood.
Police said the teen also had a modified AR 15.
Channel 2′s Tom Regan was in Fayetteville Thursday where the chase ended. One neighbor said he worried someone could have been hurt.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The teen crashed the car into a post after hitting another vehicle. Police said earlier the same day, he carjacked the Honda Civic at gunpoint in DeKalb County.
Deputies tried to pull him over on a nearby highway, but he wouldn’t stop.
“It was intense. Like I said, he was going across people’s yards,” Glenn Poton said.
Poton pointed out the tire marks in his neighbor’s yards all left by the teen driver as he raced through the subdivision with police on his tail.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Man with no pants on sexually assaults women at metro Atlanta Kroger, police say
- Sexual assault suspect killed after opening fire on officers in Clayton County, police say
- Hall County man asked Geek Squad to fix his phone. Now he’s in jail on child porn charges
Police first tried to pull him over on Highway 85 south, but he took off, weaving through traffic and crashing into signs and mailboxes.
The teen then raced into the Oakleigh Manor subdivision, hit a curb, crossed a lawn, turned around and drove over another yard.
Poton said it was a dangerous chase.
“I was shocked, totally shocked,” Poton said. “It could have hit another vehicle, people walking around with dogs, animals kids. It could have been a real problem.”
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
The 14-year-old middle-schooler, who wasn’t identified because of his age, circled back out of the subdivision and hit another car before crashing.
Deputies ordered him out of the wrecked vehicle and told him to raise up his arms. He dropped what authorities said was an AR-14 semi-automatic pistol with a large ammunition clip.
“A 14-year-old,” Poton said. “It’s even worse. It’s like, ‘Kids, what are you doing? You should be in school.’ I’m glad no one was hurt and hoping the kids is okay. Hopefully, this does something...like a wake-up call.
The teen faces a slew of charges. Police are also trying to figure out where he got the gun.
This browser does not support the video element.