DeKalb police closed Redan Road near Panola Road early Friday following a wreck involving seven teenagers.
Redan Road closed during the crash investigation
The Shadow Room nightclub
Wrecked Dodge Durango
Wrecked Dodge Durango that left 7 teens injured
The Cave sports bar
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- Seven teens were hurt, one critically, in an early morning wreck on Redan Road near Panola Road. Police said the teens were fleeing from a shooting at a DeKalb County nightclub when they crashed.
It all began around 5 am Friday in the parking lot of the Shadow Room nightclub on Covington Road, according to DeKalb County Police Chief William O'Brien. He said two off duty police officers working security at the Cave Sports Bar across the street heard the gun shots, saw two vehicles leave at a high rate of speed and called 911.
DeKalb County police tracked down a Jaguar on Highway 78 and found a man inside who had been shot in the leg.
Other officers spotted a Dodge Durango that matched the description of the second vehicle.
They chased it east along Redan Road, beginning where it crosses I-285 until the SUV flipped several times and crashed a few miles later, just before 5:30 am.
"When they (officers) activated their blue lights, they (the teens) immediately began to flee," Chief O'Brien told 11 Alive News.
"As they (the teens) topped the hill up here on Redan Road, obviously they lost control, flipped the car over a couple of times and from my understanding at least one individual was ejected," he added.
Police believe one of the teens was the shooter at the nightclub
The crash forced police to shut down all of Redan Road near Panola Road for several hours during rush hour.
It also woke several residents in the area.
One of them, Deborah Hayes, came to see what she described as "an awful mess".
"Young teenagers hollering and screaming, 'help me, help my brother'," she said.
DeKalb County Police said it will take them a while to piece together exactly what happened and who will be charged.
So far, they haven't released the names of anyone involved.
Under Georgia law, individual police agencies are free to set their own high speed pursuit policies.
11 Alive has requested DeKalb County's under the Open Records Act.
We've been told we will not receive a copy until at least next Monday.
11Alive News