Teen with gun, drugs causes mayhem on Ga. 400, police say

Southbound lanes closed for hours; crashes injure four.

A 16-year-old accused of fleeing from deputies and causing multiple crashes Thursday on Ga. 400 had a gun and drugs with him, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said.

The teenager, whose name was not released, was arrested on a long list of charges after the incident, which closed the southbound lanes of the highway for several hours and injured four people.

The sheriff’s office charged the Gainesville teen with reckless driving, felony fleeing and attempting to elude, speeding, theft by receiving stolen firearm, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, underage possession of a pistol, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of THC with intent to distribute, possession of a schedule I drug (LSD) with intent to distribute, possession of drug-related object, and driving on a limited permit. Additional charges are expected and could be filed when the Georgia State Patrol completes its portion of the investigation.

Around 3:30 p.m., a Forsyth deputy pulled over the driver of a silver Dodge Durango for a traffic violation, the sheriff ’s office said.

As the deputy approached the vehicle, the driver sped away.

“The deputy pursued the Durango,” the sheriff ’s office said in a statement. “Within three minutes, additional deputies assisted by deploying stop sticks designed to deflate the tires and shutting down the southbound ramps to Ga. 400.”

The driver of the Durango traveled onto the emergency shoulder of the road before losing control of the SUV, the state patrol said. The driver then came back onto the highway and hit multiple vehicles, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office initially said the driver was suspected of driving under the influence. He had not been charged with DUI early Friday afternoon.

All of the vehicles struck were in the southbound lanes, with one of those hit coming to a rest on the shoulder of the road, investigators said.

“Three drivers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and one sustained serious injuries,” a state patrol spokesperson said.

The highway was closed between exits 14 and 15 in the Cumming area. Shortly after 7 p.m., the lanes reopened.

While the sheriff’s office investigated the initial traffic stop, the state patrol assisted in the investigation into the multiple crashes.

GSP’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team continues to investigate.