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Early morning high-speed chase through north Fulton sends officer, suspect to hospital

A police chase through parts of Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs ended in a crash that sent a police officer and a suspect to the hospital early Saturday.
An Alpharetta Police officer and a suspect collided at the conclusion of a high-speed chase through parts of north Fulton County early Saturday morning, April 21, 2018. (Alpharetta PD)

Alpharetta Police and law enforcement from surrounding agencies were engaged in a high-speed pursuit with a driver early Saturday morning that ended with the suspect and a police officer heading to the hospital.

Officials said the pursuit began at about 1:55, when Alpharetta officers began to pursue a white Mercedes 300 going southbound on Georgia 400 at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. Officers said the suspect was also not maintaining his lane.

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By the time the suspect exited Georgia 400 at Abernathy Road in Sandy Springs, officers had been able to estimate his speed as topping out at 143 mph.

Once the suspect exited on Abernathy Road, he turned westbound and then turned north on Roswell Road. Sandy Springs Police officers joined the chase at that point. As the chase crossed the Chattahoochee River into the city of Roswell, Roswell Police officers and Georgia State Patrol troopers also joined the chase.

Officers tried to use stop sticks at multiple locations to stop the suspect, but the suspect managed to avoid them. Investigators said the suspect ran several red lights and drove on the opposite side of the road while trying to evade police.

An Alpharetta Police officer and a suspect collided at the conclusion of a high-speed chase through parts of north Fulton County early Saturday morning, April 21, 2018. (Alpharetta PD)

The suspect's vehicle and the Alpharetta officer that began the chase collided with each other near the intersection of Crabapple Road and Rucker Road near the Alpharetta-Roswell city limits, which brought the chase to a close.

Both drivers were transported to a North Fulton Regional Hospital for treatment. The officer was treated for minor injuries and released.

The suspect was later identified by Alpharetta Police as 49-year-old John Bolling. He was already wanted on two unrelated warrants: an aggravated stalking warrant out of Forsyth County and a DUI warrant from Broward County, Fla.

In connection with Saturday morning's chase, Bolling has also been charged with felony fleeing and eluding, speeding - 143 mph in a 65 mph zone, reckless driving, DUI/less safe, failure to maintain lane, failure to signal/changing lanes, driving on the wrong side of the road, failure to obey traffic control device (lights & stop signs), and driving while unlicensed.

Police said Bolling remained in the hospital Saturday afternoon for further evaluation.

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