Driver Tried To Hit Deputy During High-Speed Chase: Cops

CARTERSVILLE, GA — An Acworth man is accused of leading a Bartow County sheriff's deputy on a chase in which speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour on a two-lane road. A deputy was patrolling the area of Road No. 2 South near Cartersville around 3:10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 when he noticed a 2005 Dodge Caravan had an inoperable third brake light.

The deputy tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the van took off "at a high rate of speed," an incident report released by the sheriff's office states. The van allegedly shifted to the other side of the road where it was clocked at traveling more than 100 miles per hour. The van refused to stop when the deputy initiated the patrol vehicle's emergency equipment.

The van turned right on Mission Road and made another right on Road No. 3 while "driving all over the roadway," the report adds. A PIT maneuver was attempted on the van, but the deputy notes the driver of the van, identified as Robert Lee Myers, tried to strike him with the vehicle.

Myers, according to the report, ran a stop sign at Sugar Valley and Hardin Bridge roads, and almost crashed into another vehicle when the van turned left onto Hardin Bridge Road. Speeds on Hardin Bridge Road exceeded 90 miles per hour, the report adds. Another PIT maneuver was attempted by the deputy, but the van cut off the patrol car.

Undeterred, Myers allegedly continued to flee by turning right onto Jones Slough Road where the deputy tried another PIT maneuver. According to the report, Meyers, who was going more than 70 miles per hour at this point in the case, tried to once again hit the patrol car with the Dodge Caravan.

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Myers drove the van behind a residence and fled on foot into a field. A female passenger inside the van, identified as Myers' wife, got out of the vehicle with her hands in the air. The woman said her husband "told her to shut up and hold on" when the deputy tried to conduct the traffic stop.

"She stated she was telling him to stop, but he dumped a beer on her head and told her to shut up," according to the incident report.

Deputies tried to track down Myers, but were initially unsuccessful. However, Bartow County Jail records show he was booked into the facility Monday morning and charged with driving an unsafe/improperly equipped vehicle, driving while license is suspended/revoked, reckless driving and fleeing and attempting to elude police. He remains held at the Jail with a $2,775 bond.

Photo: Robert Lee Myers. Credit: Bartow County Jail