AUGUSTA, Ga. — Georgia State Patrol is shooting down rumors surrounding a crash that involved a trooper and a pedestrian in Augusta.
According to a news release, Trooper Richard Justice tried to stop a Honda Accord on Broad Street in Augusta around 8 p.m. last Friday.
The driver of the Accord, identified as 24-year-old Terrell Beatty, reportedly did not stop and a chase began.
Beatty turned onto Crawford Avenue and ran into a curb, disabling the Accord.
Georgia State Patrol says Richmond County deputies were sitting in a parking lot next to the crash site at the time of the accident.
Beatty got out and ran towards Broad Street and away from the deputies. As he ran into traffic, he ran into the passenger side of Trooper Justice’s cruiser.
Since deputies were nearby, they were the first to get to the scene and request an ambulance for Beatty.
Deputies also found a Taurus .380 caliber and what they believed to be a small bag of marijuana next to him.
He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Georgia State Patrol says Beatty had outstanding felony warrants in Richmond County, and he was hit with 11 charges for the incident with GSP.
They are: failure to maintain lane, driving under the influence, reckless driving, felony fleeing and attempting to elude, failure to report an accident with property, open container, no seat belt, driving while license suspended, possession of marijuana, possession of firearm while under first offender sentence, and pedestrian must not dart out in traffic.
Because the investigation is ongoing, dash cam video from the patrol vehicle will not be released until the case is complete.
However, Georgia State Patrol says there are rumors and video of the scene spreading across social media that suggest Beatty was ‘run over’ by the cruiser and is dead. They are not true, and GSP asks people to stop spreading the misinformation.
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