A Vietnamese man who spoke little English led deputies on a 16-mile chase that began near milepost 117 on I-20 and finally ended with a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver by a Morgan County deputy in Greene County on Feb. 26.
Lang Van Tran, 36, of Evans, is charged with fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement and speeding (97 mph in a 70-mph zone).
According to reports, Deputy William Smith was parked in the median on I-20 when he observed a vehicle approaching in the fast lane at a high rate of speed.
Smith checked the speed with DragonEye LiDAR, which revealed the Toyota Camry was traveling at 97 miles per hour.
Smith gave chase and caught up to the Camry at milepost 119.5 with lights and sirens activated.
The Camry slowed to 60 miles per hour but did not pull over.
According to the report, the Camry continued eastbound at 60 to 80 miles per hour while crossing into Greene County. Greene deputies joined the chase and pulled in behind Smith.
Smith believed Greene County deputies would lead the chase, but when they didn’t, he asked for permission to PIT the vehicle.
The on-duty supervisor granted permission when it was safe to do so.
With light traffic ahead and traffic behind blocked by the Greene County deputies, Smith attempted to PIT the Camry.
According to the report, the PIT maneuver was too shallow and made minor contact with the Camry. The Camry driver lost control and swerved toward the center barrier but avoided contact with it.
Smith arrested Tran but had to use a translation app to communicate effectively with him. Tran said he did not understand the situation, but Smith contacted Tran’s nephew, who relayed that he was supposed to stop for emergency lights and sirens.
The Georgia State Patrol took over the accident investigation, and Tran was taken to jail.