By Tayleigh Davis - bio | email
DAWSON, GA (WALB) - A man is in jail after leading officers on a high speed chase through the streets of Dawson and Terrell County. It all came to an end Saturday night when the driver bailed from the car and officers pepper sprayed him.
People who live in the neighborhood where the chase occurred say, slow down because kids and other people are crossing these streets.
Reverend Lawrence Jones and his family live in the area where police pursued 35-year-old Derick Bridges reaching speeds near 100 mph. Jones says he has a lot of grand kids he worries about and he doesn't want criminals to accidentally run them over.
"You never know when people and children will be crossing the road and with people driving that fast it's serious," Jones said.
Officers say the chase started just before 9:00 Saturday night when the driver rolled through the stop sign at the intersection of Main street and 6th Ave Northeast just across from the Bank Of Dawson.
Police tried to stop Bridges but he kept going - running stop signs as he drove through Stonewall street, turned left on Orange street, continued to Church street and Lemon street. He flew down Kennedy road- a dirt road- stopped at a home, jumped out and ran into the woods just past a satellite dish in the yard.
"It's best to stop and surrender because they're going to get you one way or another," Jones noted.
When officers caught Bridges, he failed to cooperate. That's when police sprayed him with pepper spray, handcuffed and booked him in the Sumter County jail.
"I hope we can get this crime rate down because it's serious and people are going wild," Jones added.
As criminals see they can't run from the law, Jones and his family hope this sobering reality will help cut down on crime in south Georgia.
Police searched Bridges' Brown Chevrolet Monte Carlo. They found an open bottle of beer in the passenger seat along with three other unopened containers.
Bridges is currently being held in the Sumter County Jail. Some charges in his arrest include having an open container of alcohol, fleeing from an officer, reckless driving, and failure to stop at a stop sign.
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