Car chase ends in wreck

Sheriff’s deputies responded to complaints of a reckless driver almost striking several Pike County Road Department employees on Sands Road the morning of Friday, Feb. 26. After locating the vehicle and attempting a traffic stop on Daniel Road, the driver fled traveling eastbound on Highway 18. The driver, James Anthony Lawrence, continued to drive in an erratic manner at a high rate of speed. At one point in the pursuit the hood from the Ford Mustang that Lawrence was driving came off of the car and landed in the roadway. Deputies took the initiative to terminate the pursuit before reaching a more populated area of the county by performing the PIT maneuver and disabling the offender’s vehicle.The suspect then fled on foot and was captured shortly after deputies deployed a Taser. Pike County Fire Department responded to the scene to check all parties involved and one deputy was transported to Upson Regional Hospital for evaluation and has been released after treatment for minor injuries. Criminal charges are being filed against the suspect including felony fleeing and eluding, felony obstruction of officer, reckless conduct, reckless driving and numerous traffic violations. Lawrence is currently in the Pike County Jail awaiting a bond hearing.