Suspected Drunk Driver Flips Car, Hits Ga. 400 Median: Police

ALPHARETTA, GA — A man was arrested early Saturday morning for driving 131 MPH, fleeing cops and then flipping his car on Ga. 400, police said.

The Alpharetta Department of Public Safety posted on its Facebook page that one of their DUI officers clocked a Volvo traveling 131 MPH heading north on Ga. 400 through Alpharetta near Haynes Bridge Road.

The officer tried to catch up and stop the car, but once the 33-year-old driver saw the blue lights, he accelerated faster, the department said.

“He tried to exit at McFarland Pkwy but was going too fast, went airborne across McFarland, hit the concrete median, and flipped over the guardrail," the officer said. "He was able to walk out."

The department posted, "While this driver is facing several charges, we’re so very thankful we didn't have to deliver a fatality notification to his, or anyone else's family."

Charges include DUI, open container of alcohol, reckless driving, speeding, fleeing and eluding from law enforcement.

This is another speeding instance Alpharetta officers have caught on Ga. 400 recently.

A 30-year-old man from Cumming was arrested in August after he was caught traveling 163 MPH on his motorcycle along Ga. 400, Alpharetta police say.

Police saw a motorcycle traveling at over 100 MPH on Ga. 400 southbound south of Old Milton Parkway and issued a lookout. Another officer saw the sport bike approaching, and began to follow the motorcycle. As they were approaching the Mansell Road exit ramp, the motorcycle changed lanes and began to accelerate, the police report said.

The officer turned on his emergency blue lights and siren to attempt a traffic stop on the motorcycle, but the bike kept accelerating. While behind the bike, the officer saw they were driving around 150 MPH in a 65 zone. The officer said in the report the bike was going 163 MPH per his radar.

A week later, another man was arrested for traveling 110 MPH down Westside Parkway, police say.

pPolice saw a BMW speeding, which they estimated at 85 MPH, northbound on Westside Pkwy near Gardner Drive. The officer was unable to confirm the speed with his radar due to the angle of the roadway. The vehicle almost loss control as the driver was negotiating the curve, the police report said.

The officer caught up to the vehicle on Westside Pkwy at Haynes Bridge Road when the BMW stopped in the right lane at the red light. When the light turned green, the vehicle sped off again pulling away from the officer, the report said. The estimated speed of the vehicle was about 105 MPH.

Radar showed the actual speed of the speed of the vehicle was 110 MPH. This area is a posted 40 MPH zone.

The 30-year-old Alpharetta man said he was leaving Avalon and was going home, but said he didn't have "a good reason to be in such a hurry," the report said. When asked why he was going 110 MPH, the man said, "I didn't mean to."