A 2-state police chase this week ended in a roll-over crash that ejected an 11-year-old girl in the fleeing vehicle, killing her.
According to the Valdosta Daily Times, Lowndes County, Georgia, deputies spotted an SUV headed south on Interstate 75 and initiated a pursuit the eventually led across the state line into Florida, where Hamilton County deputies set out stop sticks in an attempt to stop the vehicle.
The SUV crashed into another car while attempting to avoid the stop sticks, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Following the initial collision, the car hit by the SUV burst into flames, and the SUV crashed into a Lowdnes County deputy’s cruiser, causing it to rollover. The 11-year-old girl was ejected during the rollover.
Occupants of the SUV and the first car struck were taken to Shands Hospital in Gainesville and South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, Florida officials said.
A 63-year-old man and an 11-year-old, both from Atlanta, were in the car that burned, but both suffered only minor injuries, as did the 53-year-old deputy in the patrol car that crashed.
Six people were in the fleeing SUV: a 30-year-old woman behind the wheel and four more children. Florida authorities said a 5-month-old, a 14-year-old, and a 15-year-old were in serious condition, while another 5-month-old was in critical condition. The adult driver suffered minor injuries. All six in the vehicle were from Riviera Beach, Florida.
Lowndes County deputies charged the SUV’s driver, 30-year-old Tisha Andrea Brown, with 26 counts, including false imprisonment and count of fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement, jail records show. Florida officials are expected to file more charges related to the pursuit and crash.
