According to an analysis of federal records, there were at least 416 people killed in police chases during 2017. This marked the fourth consecutive year when the number of people killed in police chases rose. These numbers were calculated by analyzing the Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration records. The true number could be far higher since local police reports do not always mention deaths or injuries involved in police chases. The great majority of those killed are innocent bystanders. Fifty-seven people killed were involved in crashes that resulted from speeds in excess of 100 m.p.h.
WSB-TV reports that two people were killed in a crash involving a driver who was fleeing from police in Atlanta. The deadly crash caused a busy southwest Atlanta intersection to shut down on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 5.
Police reported that they had attempted to pull over the driver, who was wanted for carjacking. The driver refused to stop and drove through an intersection, where he slammed into another vehicle. At around 3:30 a.m., two teens carjacked a man outside an ATM at the 900 block of Ralph David Abernathy Drive. At around 2:30 p.m., police officers spotted the stolen vehicle. At that point, the teens were able to elude police.
Later that afternoon, the vehicle was spotted again and the situation fit the criteria for police to instigate a pursuit. The two teens took off and shortly after, crashed at the intersection. Two men inside the car they crashed into were killed. The crash led to a chain reaction accident involving several other cars. The injuries reported in those cars were minor.
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