Roswell Man Arrested For 'Street Race' on Old Alabama

A 21-year-old Roswell man was arrested by Johns Creek Police and charged with racing on highway or streets, reckless driving and fleeing/attempting to elude officer after a police officer noticed him racing a BMW driven by his girlfriend.

On June 4 a Johns Creek Police officer on Old Alabama Road observed a BMW stop at the traffic signal at Old Alabama and Jones Bridge, and a few seconds later a motorcycle stop in the next lane.

According to police reports, the motorcycle driver raised his mask, the BMW driver lowered her window and the two began speaking with each other. When the signal turned green, the officer heard one of the drivers say "You wanna race?" and then both vehicles accelerated rapidly from the intersection. 

The motorcycle went straight across the intersection from the left turn lane and continued straight on the left side of the BMW, traveling left of the center of the road. 

The officer caught up to the vehicles on Old Alabama near River Farm Drive. The motorcycle rapidly pulled away from the car. The officer stopped the BMW while another officer reported that he saw the motorcycle run a signal at Old Alabama as it turned north onto Medlock Bridge. Officers chased the motorcycle as it continued on State Bridge and onto Saint Georgen Commen, where they lost visual contact.

Meanwhile, the first officer approached the BMW driver and told her that she was stopped for driving recklessly and racing another vehicle. The driver laughed and told the officer that it was a joke and they were just playing. The officer asked the driver the identity of the man on the motorcycle, and she said she did not know.

The officer advised the BMW driver that she could be arrested and she stopped laughing and began apologizing repeatedly. The officer told her that the other officers had cornered the motorcycle in a subdivision and it was only a matter of time before he was found. The officer then told the driver that if she had lied about her knowledge of the motorcycle driver's identity, she would be charged with obstructing an investigation. The driver then told the officer that the motorcycle driver was her boyfriend and that they were going to her house in Johns Creek from his house in Roswell, and that he did not know anyone in that area and he did not have his cellphone.

The other officers advised that the motorcycle was located behind the residence on Hershinger Close. The driver's helmet was in the bushes behind the house, and he was not inside the residence. The first officer went to the residence with his K-9 dog to track the driver since he was on foot. The dog began tracking the motorcycle driver to the Chattahoochee River. The driver was not found and the dog was returned to the patrol vehicle.

One of the Johns Creek Police officers contacted the Roswell Police Department and asked them to check if anyone at Gray's residence in Roswell knew where he was.

About an hour later the motorcycle driver's parents told police that he had contacted them and they, along with the Roswell Police Department, had convinced him to surrender. The suspect waited at a Shell gas station on Highway 141 at Spalding Drive to surrender to police, who took him to Johns Creek Police Department headquarters.

The driver told police that he did race with his girlfriend and intentionally fled from police on his motorcycle after panicking. He also said he had swam across the Chattahoochee River into Gwinnett County. The officer confirmed that the driver was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

He was arrested and charged with racing on highway or streets; reckless driving; fleeing/attempting to elude officer; not obeying traffic signals; speeding; disorderly conduct; driving on wrong side of road; failure to maintain lane; no passing zone; no insurance; and expired tag, all misdemeanors. The BMW driver was charged with reckless driving and racing on highways or streets, both misdemeanors.