Man Gets Prison For Near-Deadly, High-Speed Douglas Chase (ICYMI)

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — A Dallas, Ga., man will spend the next 15 years behind bars after a high-speed chase through Douglas County during which he injured multiple law enforcement officers.

Ryan Hileman was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years, with the first 15 to be served in prison. He pleaded guilty to four counts of theft by taking, two counts of fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement and four counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

Superior Court Judge Cynthia C. Adams imposed the sentence recommended by Assistant District Attorney David Emadi.

Hileman's conviction stemmed from a 2016 chase that spanned multiple counties in two states.
On May 28, 2016, Hileman stole a tractor-trailer from a gas station in Heflin, Alabama and embarked on a nearly hour-long chase that crossed the state line into Georgia. Ultimately, he wrecked the tractor-trailer on Fairburn Road in Douglas County.

During the chase, Hileman struck and wrecked a pursuing patrol vehicle that was attempting to pull him over in Temple, Ga.

He also collided with law enforcement officers in Carroll County before entering Douglas County, where he struck a Georgia State Patrol trooper on Interstate 20 near Highway 5, causing the trooper's vehicle to crash into several Douglasville Police Department cruisers.
Multiple law enforcement vehicles were totaled in that crash. One Douglasville Police Officer was shown on dash-cam footage almost getting run over by the wrecked cars as he fled from the scene.
The state patrol trooper who was struck had to be extracted from his vehicle to receive medical treatment. He was found unconscious and bleeding from a head wound after the crash.

The trooper has since recovered from those injuries, but continues to suffer significant back pain as a result of the wreck.
After causing the crashes at Highway 5, Hileman continued driving down I-20 during rush hour traffic at a high speed. He tried to strike another Douglasville Police officer just before Lee Road.

Officers were able to deploy spike strips just before Fairburn Road. The spikes blew out Hileman's tires and forced him to exit off the interstate and end the dangerous chase.

"The reason we aggressively prosecute these cases and seek prison time for these dangerous high speed chases is because they are nothing more than a quarter-inch here, or a split second there, away from a catastrophic collision and possibly even death," Emadi said during arguments over sentencing.

"Fortunately no one was killed in this case, but several officers suffered significant injuries, and hundreds of citizens driving with their families on a holiday weekend were placed in harm’s way because of the actions of this defendant."

Hileman's attorney had asked that he be sentenced to five years in prison.

District Attorney Brian Fortner praised the sentence Adams handed down.

"This type of violent and dangerous behavior cannot be tolerated on our roads," Fortner said. "The defendant’s actions showed a wanton and reckless disregard for anyone’s safety, and could have resulted in many more people being injured or possibly worse."

Photo courtesy Douglas County District Attorney's office