‘Just carnage:’ Several injured after driver plows through Paulding County gas station

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Paulding County deputies say several people are injured after a crash at a gas station led to a suicide attempt.

Deputies responded to the Al’s Exxon in the Rose’s Store/Union Community at 30 Highway 101 in North Dallas on Sunday morning regarding a multi-vehicle accident and a possible shooting.

Deputies say a white GMC Sierra crew cab truck was traveling southbound on GA 101 toward the GA 120/GA 101 intersection and it appeared that it was purposefully driven off of the roadway through the sign of Al’s Exxon.

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Once the truck went through the sign, it hit multiple vehicles in the parking lot of the store, including the gas pumps.

“We hear like a loud bang,” witness Andrew Lancaster told Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln.

Bystanders went to check on the driver, later identified as 30-year-old Christopher David Coleman, and he grabbed a handgun. Deputies say according to witnesses, Coleman then shot himself in the head.

Coleman was treated by first responders and taken to the hospital where he later died from his self-inflicted injuries.

“Luckily, there was a garden truck with a trailer. God forbid that truck wasn’t there. That truck would have kept going and probably knocked out one of the pumps, possibly could have been ten times worse than what it was,” Lancaster said.

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Deputies say there were multiple people at the gas station when the accident happened and several of them were injured. As of now, none of the bystanders injuries are life threating.

“This was just insane,” Lancaster said. “Whenever we walked outside,...it was just carnage.”

Paulding County deputies said the Georgia State Patrol is investigating the motor vehicle accident portion of this incident and the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the suicide attempt portion of this incident.

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