A police chase in Atlanta ended early last week with a Dodge Charger patrol car resting on top of an overturned Jeep Gladiator that was being pursued.
The chase started shortly after the 50-year-old driver of the Gladiator, Robert Shirling, refused to pull over near Sandtown Road and Hollyridge Drive in Midtown Atlanta. Police report that the Shirling attempted to ram an officer’s vehicle in his Jeep while being pursued through the streets of Cobb County before he merged onto the southbound lanes of the interstate and headed into Atlanta.
Speaking with Fox 5 Atlanta, Cobb County Police Department officials say Shirlin rammed into two vehicles on Northside Drive before hitting a third vehicle from the rear. It was after these collisions that an officer decided to perform a PIT maneuver on the Gladiator.
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The PIT proved to be a little too effective. The force of the impact flipped the Jeep onto its roof and the police car slammed into the side of it, coming to a rest on top of the Jeep’s underside. Footage of the actual collision has not been released by the Cobb County Police Department but we can see that the Gladiator has suffered significant damage and the Charger will likely need some expensive repairs if it is to ever return to service.
Despite the multiple collisions and the roll, the driver of the Jeep only experienced minor injuries and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. He has been charged with aggravated assault, fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, felony driving with a license suspended or revoked, failure to maintain a lane, and violation of a traffic control device.