Crime & Safety
Winder Woman Facing Charges After Police Chase in Walton County
An alleged drunk driver ran from a Georgia State Trooper on Sunday, running head-on into an oncoming car and sending herself and three others to the hospital, including a 3-year-old child.
A Winder woman was checked out of and into the Monday following a chase and accident on Ga. Highway 81 on Sunday night.
According to a spokesman from Georgia State Patrol, Trooper John Taylor turned his vehicle around and attempted a traffic stop on a Ford Focus that he had met in a curve northbound on Highway 81 just before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Taylor reported that the Ford, driven by Patricia R. Hudson, 52, of Winder, had been straddling the centerline.
The vehicle reportedly continued northbound on Highway 81 toward Bold Springs Church Road, weaving. There was a short pursuit, which ended with the driver leaving the road and overcorrecting before crossing the centerline and hitting an oncoming Kia Sedona head-on. The driver and two passengers — one a 3-year-old child — in the Kia, as well as Hudson, were transported to Walton Regional Medical Center.
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The as well as emergency personnel were called in to assist. Hudson was released Monday and was immediately transported to the Walton County jail. Taylor will be taking out warrants on her for driving under the influence, fleeing and attempting to elude, driving on the wrong side of the road, felony obstruction of an officer and felony obstruction of EMS. GSP officials said other charges could be added.
This comes on the heels of some criticism leveled at law enforcement agencies recently for chases that ended in fatal car accidents. A $2 million judgment was handed down last month against Gwinnett County for an accident near Snellville on Dec. 15, 2006 that resulted in the death of 52-year-old Willie Allen Sargent, Jr. Currently, there is an investigation underway and was fired following the in downtown Atlanta following a chase that resulted in the death of Kathy Porter, 54, of Loganville. Porter was the wife of Atlanta Braves athletic trainer Jeff Porter. However, police and experts say with so many officers patrolling the roads every day, such accidents are bound to happen.
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The Georgia State Patrol has confirmed no one received life-threatening injuries in this accident.
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