An overnight pursuit across coastal Georgia reached speeds approaching 140 miles per hour with the fleeing car's lights switched off before it ended on Interstate 95 near mile marker 82 in Bryan County early Sunday, November 15, according to preliminary information from the Georgia Department of Public Safety reported by News Now Georgia. The driver of the Dodge Charger was taken into custody, and no injuries or deaths were reported.

Source: News Now Georgia, reporting Georgia Department of Public Safety preliminary information

The sequence began at around 12:15 a.m., when a McIntosh County deputy attempted to stop a speeding Dodge Charger on Highway 17 near the Liberty County line. The driver refused to pull over and accelerated north toward Riceboro, exceeding 100 mph as the deputy gave chase. During the pursuit along Highway 17, the driver turned off the Charger's lights and reached speeds of approximately 120 mph.

Onto Interstate 95, lights off again

After reaching the Highway 17 interchange with I-95 in Liberty County, the driver entered the interstate northbound. Georgia State Patrol joined the pursuit as the Charger continued accelerating, and the driver again switched off the vehicle's lights, reaching nearly 140 mph while travelling along the interstate in darkness.

Liberty County sheriff's deputies joined the pursuit as it passed Exit 76 in Midway. In its updated preliminary account, the Georgia Department of Public Safety placed the start of the pursuit near I-95 mile marker 18 in Camden County, said troopers responded at 12:53 a.m. to assist Camden County deputies, and listed the agencies involved as Camden, Glynn, McIntosh, Liberty and Bryan counties, along with the Georgia State Patrol — a five-county response on one of the busiest freight corridors on the US East Coast.

How the pursuit ended near Exit 82

The chase continued north to approximately mile marker 82. News Now Georgia reported that a Georgia State Patrol trooper struck the Charger with a patrol vehicle during a PIT manoeuvre, sending it off the interstate. The Department of Public Safety's updated preliminary account said that at the Belfast-Keller Road exit in Bryan County, the Charger's driver lost control, crossed the road and crashed into a ditch. Bryan County sheriff's deputies were arriving in the area as the chase ended, and troopers and deputies took the driver into custody without further incident.

A separate dispatch record of the incident, logged from public-safety radio traffic in the Richmond Hill area, independently placed the pursuit on I-95 northbound into Bryan County, past mile markers 80 and 81, ending with the vehicle well off the roadway near Exit 82 with debris on the road and no injuries reported — matching the location and outcome in the official preliminary account.

Source: US CrimeRadar dispatch record, Richmond Hill, Georgia

Why this stretch of I-95 matters

Interstate 95 is the main north-south highway and freight artery of the US East Coast, and the Georgia coastal stretch between Camden County and Bryan County carries heavy overnight truck traffic moving to and from the Savannah area. A car travelling at nearly 140 mph with its lights off in darkness is an extreme danger to truck drivers and families on that corridor, which is why pursuits at this speed draw a multi-county response. No other vehicle was reported struck during this pursuit, and the interstate was not reported closed.

What happens next

The driver remained in custody in the reports available on Sunday, with identity and charges still to be released. Drivers and truckers using I-95 in coastal Georgia should check Georgia 511 for any investigation-related delays near the Belfast-Keller Road exit, and this story will be updated when the Department of Public Safety releases the driver's name and charges.