"The Georgia State Patrol is answering questions Wednesday about a high-speed chase that ended in the deaths of two young people near Savannah.
The chase started when the driver of a Nissan Pathfinder, 21-year-old Katie Sharp, was clocked at 86 mph on Interstate 95 in South Carolina by a Colleton County deputy. The driver refused to pull over.
â??Erratic lane changes, cutting in and out of traffic, high speedâ?¦We had to get this vehicle stopped before someone got killed in the motoring public,â? said Georgia State Trooper Larry Schnall.
Thirteen miles inside Georgia, a Georgia trooper used a PIT maneuver to nudge the Pathfinder off the road. The vehicle slammed into a tree killing Sharp and her 17-year-old passenger, Garrett Gabe.
â??The trooper did his job to disable the vehicle and unfortunately, we lost the life of two individuals,â? Schnall said. â??We're very sad about that, but the trooper did his job. We took a dangerous driver off the roadway and we feel confident we saved the lives of motorists.â?
The PIT maneuver is dangerous and can have varying results. Just eight months ago, trooper Tony Lumley died after a crash in Spalding County. He had used the PIT maneuver on a fleeing robbery suspect and lost control.
A month after Lumley's death, a trooper used the same maneuver to knock Jerry Jones off the road in north Georgia. Jones was on the run after investigators say he killed four relatives and kidnapped his three children.
Georgia State Patrol officials said they remain confident in the maneuver.
Law enforcement officials said they did not know why Sharp decided to run. The only trouble they have found so far is a suspended driverâ??s license."
Demonstrates how dangerous this is for officers as well, and why they do not undertake such actions lightly.
95 Contour SE ATX V6- SOLD
2001.5 VW Passat GLX V6 Tiptronic
2004 Honda VTX 1800N1
There are no stupid questions.
There are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.
