High-speed chase turns chaotic as suspect steals Coweta County patrol car while cuffed

Doug Evans
·2 min read
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COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Coweta County deputies were led on a high-speed chase Wednesday after investigators say Antavious Boyd managed to commandeer a patrol car while handcuffed.

It began innocuously when deputies pulled over Boyd for following another vehicle too closely and the deputy intended only to issue a warning. However, the situation escalated when it was discovered that Boyd was driving on a suspended license.

Boyd sped away from the initial traffic stop, leading deputies on a dangerous pursuit. At one point, dashcam footage captured Boyd overtaking a school bus over a double yellow line, narrowly avoiding a collision with an oncoming car and a semi-truck. Deputies report that Boyd reached speeds exceeding 100 mph.

Efforts to stop Boyd using a PIT maneuver were initially unsuccessful, as he swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid the maneuver. The chase came to a temporary halt when Boyd was apprehended at gunpoint. Deputies attempted to secure him in the back of a patrol car, but within moments, the suspect had maneuvered his handcuffs to the front, climbed into the driver's seat, and drove off.

Deputies were then forced into the unusual position of pursuing one of their own vehicles. They successfully executed a PIT maneuver against the stolen patrol car, but the chase didn't end there. Boyd jumped from the vehicle and attempted to run away until a deputy used a Taser to subdue and recapture him.

Boyd now faces a multitude of charges, predominantly felonies. According to deputies, had Boyd complied originally, he might have been released within an hour for his suspended license. However, he now also faces charges related to a collision during the chase involving the patrol car, which resulted in minor injuries to an 82-year-old woman.

The Georgia State Patrol is currently investigating the traffic accident that occurred during the chase.

Boyd was booked into the Coweta County Jail on charges of three counts of aggravated assault, two counts of fleeing to elude, driving while license suspended or revoked, reckless driving, following too closely, passing in a no passing zone, criminal interference with government property, willful obstruction of law enforcement officers, escape, and hit-and-run.

He remained in jail without bond on Thursday.