A Greene County deputy and a Georgia State Patrol trooper chased down a South Carolina man who fled on foot after a PIT maneuver disabled his vehicle on May 27.
Johnny Benjamin Cornish, 5610 Weston Ave., Columbia, South Carolina, was charged with following too closely, reckless driving, obstruction of law enforcement officers, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and entering an automobile.
According to reports, Sgt. Leo Sierra conducted a traffic stop on a gray Nissan Sentra traveling eastbound on Interstate 20 near mile marker 131 for following too closely.
Cornish lowered his window only partially when Sierra requested his driver's license. Sierra then asked him to exit the vehicle so he could explain the reason for the stop and verify his license status.
Instead, Cornish suddenly put the vehicle in drive and fled eastbound on I-20.
According to the report, Cornish passed vehicles on both the left and right shoulders of the interstate at speeds exceeding 100 mph during the pursuit.
A Georgia State Patrol trooper, unaware that Sierra was pursuing the Nissan, joined the chase after observing the vehicle rapidly approaching from behind. The trooper later told Sierra that his rear radar antenna recorded the Nissan traveling at 126 mph.
The trooper took the lead in the pursuit and performed a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT, maneuver. The maneuver forced the vehicle off the roadway, where it rolled onto the shoulder and struck a tree.
As Sierra and other Greene County deputies approached, Cornish climbed out of a broken window and fled toward Grey Land Road.
Sierra deployed K-9 Griff and began a foot pursuit, but lost sight of Cornish while crossing a barbed-wire fence.
Moments later, Sierra spotted Cornish behind a residence at 1220 Grey Land Road. Sierra and Griff resumed the chase across O'Neal Road and into the Jay Ray Trucking yard.
During the pursuit, Sierra saw Cornish enter a parked vehicle that he believed Cornish intended to use to continue fleeing. As Sierra approached, Cornish exited the vehicle and surrendered.
Cornish was arrested and transported to St. Mary's Hospital for medical clearance before being taken to the Greene County Jail.
The Georgia State Patrol assumed responsibility for the wrecked Nissan and had it removed from the scene.