HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A motorcyclist whom troopers initially tried to pull over for not wearing a helmet wound up leading them instead on a chaotic chase in Hall County on Wednesday.
The Georgia State Patrol told 11Alive the incident began just after 4 p.m. when troopers "attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the motorcycle, but the driver failed to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued."
Viewers told 11Alive they observed law enforcement officers during the chase in the areas of Dawsonville Hwy. and later Sardis Road.
It's unclear where the chase exactly went from there, with GSP describing the driver then turning onto a "dead-end road" where he lost control of the motorcycle and crashed.
"The subject fled the crash scene on foot into a wooded area and entered Lake Lanier and began to swim away," GSP said.
Troopers and a Hall County Sheriff's Office deputy then chased him into the lake, GSP said, on a fishing boat operated by a civilian where they caught him and "extracted the subject from the water," placing him under arrest.
"Upon investigation of the motorcycle crash, it was discovered the subject possessed a trafficking amount of Methamphetamine and Cocaine. The subject was transported to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and cleared," GSP said. "The subject was additionally charged with pursuit-related violations."
According to GSP, the Hall County Sheriff's Office is handling the drug-related case.
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