Two Cumming residents led Dawson County law enforcement on a 30-minute high-speed chase in the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 25.
The chase started after a state patrolman attempted to pull over a Ford Ranger, driven by Andrew Michael Waters, 25, right after 3 a.m. to investigate a missing taillight and for speeding. Instead of stopping, Waters went through the intersection of Hwy. 136 and Ga. 400, leading officers up to Price Road in the northern section of the county, and then down into Forsyth County, said Capt. Tony Wooten with the Dawson County Sheriffs Office.
Then, Wooten said, Waters drove back into Dawson County, where he was apprehended at the intersection of Ga. 400 and Dawson Forest Road after a tire blew out on his vehicle. After a search, a plastic bag with traces of methamphetamine was detected in the vehicle.
During the chase, we believe someone in the vehicle disposed of methamphetamine, Wooten said.
Waters was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, expired tag, driving while license suspended/revoked, failure to signal (three counts), too fast for conditions, speeding, obedience to traffic control device, littering highway, reckless driving, fleeing/eluding police officer, driving on wrong side of road, failure to maintain lane, failure to stop for stop sign (four counts), taillight required, and failure to wear seatbelt. He also has charges pending in Forsyth County.
A lot of the mileage was in Forsyth County, Wooten said. The chase lasted about 30 miles.
Breanna Paige Haynes, 19, was a female passenger in the vehicle. She was arrested on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Both Waters and Haynes remain in the Dawson County Jail. As of presstime, bond had not been set.
The good thing is that, at that time of day, there were no other vehicles on the roadway, Wooten said. In fact, he said only one other vehicle was passed during the chase in Dawson.