ATLANTA — A Georgia State Patrol cruiser seen pushing an SUV down a Grant Park street in a viral video on Friday was trying to stop a stolen car, the agency said.
The video of the incident was posted to the @atlscoop Instagram account and got more than 169,000 views. It shows a GSP cruiser pushing the SUV in a kind of T-bone position down the road, and then cuts to the SUV at a stop with four GSP patrol cars surrounding it.
According to GSP, they were trying to stop a stolen car that had fled from about a mile up the road.
The agency said troopers attempted to stop the GMC Terrain around 2 p.m. on Friday, on Memorial Dr. at Boulevard, before the driver "initiated a pursuit."
"A Trooper performed a PIT maneuver; however, the driver continued to flee striking the trooper’s patrol vehicle. Another Trooper performed a second PIT maneuver ending the pursuit," GSP said in a statement.
GSP said the driver was charged with auto theft, fleeing and attempting to elude, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and other traffic-related offenses.
They said the driver was a "convicted felon with a weapon and wanted for robbery."
