A traffic stop in Georgia ended in a police shooting and a vehicle crash after a man wanted on outstanding warrants allegedly drove away from officers and led them on a pursuit into Madison County.
Derrell Dukes, 33, of Athens, was stopped by an Athens-Clarke County police officer at about 10.30am on Sunday in the 100 block of Oakmont Court. A Winterville police officer arrived shortly afterwards to assist with his arrest.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, passenger Peyton Ragland, 28, of Summerville, got out of the rear seat when officers ordered Dukes to leave the black SUV.
Dukes opened the driver’s door but then shut it and accelerated away, with another woman still in the front passenger seat. An officer fired one shot towards the moving vehicle as it pulled away.
No one was struck by the gunfire. Officers pursued the SUV into Madison County, where it crashed on the 3000 block of Spratlin Mill Road in Hull.
Dukes and the unidentified woman suffered minor injuries in the collision and were taken to a nearby hospital. Both were treated and released, authorities said.
Ragland and Dukes were later booked into the Clarke County Jail on outstanding warrants. Investigators said those warrants were unrelated to the pursuit and shooting.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe
The identity of the officer who fired the shot, and the agency they work for, have not been disclosed. Authorities have also not named the woman who remained in the SUV.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is conducting an independent investigation at the request of the Winterville Police Department. The case will examine the circumstances surrounding the shooting and the subsequent crash.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact the GBI’s regional investigative office in Athens on 706-542-7901.
