A Cobb County murder suspect led law enforcement on a high-speed chase Tuesday that started in Bulloch County but ended in Bloomingdale.
Bulloch County sheriff's Cpl. Jody Deal had just received a lookout notice for a 2005 Chrysler 300 around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when he spotted the car, believed to be driven by George Michael Lewis, 47, of Lithonia, said Bulloch County Sheriff Lynn Anderson.
Lewis was being sought on an outstanding murder charge by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Deal saw the car traveling on Northside Drive and notified dispatch that he was in pursuit of the car. He and Cpl. Greg Collins "attempted a felony stop on the vehicle on Fair Road, at which point the car fled," Anderson said.
Deal and Collins chased the suspect on Highway 67 at "speeds of up to 130 miles per hour," with Lewis "driving in an extremely reckless manner and attempting to ram other vehicles," he said.
The deputies continued the pursuit onto Interstate 16 to the Interstate 95 interchange, where Georgia State Patrol troopers joined the chase.
"A trooper ended the pursuit using the P.I.T. maneuver on Hwy. 204 as the suspect vehicle exited I-95 southbound," Anderson said.
A P.I.T., or precision immobilization technique, maneuver is used to stop a fleeing vehicle by using a patrol car to "spin" the fleeing suspect's vehicle and cause it to slide to a stop.
The Bloomingdale police took Lewis into custody after he abandoned the car and attempted to flee on foot, Anderson said.
Lewis suffered minor injuries in the crash and was escorted to Memorial Health Medical Center in Savannah by Bulloch County sheriff's deputies.
Arrangements were then made to have him turned over to Cobb County authorities on the outstanding murder warrant, he said.
Anderson praised Collins and Deal "for their dogged pursuit of the murder suspect" and expressed appreciation for the assistance of the Georgia State Patrol and other agencies involved.
Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.