An attempt to elude police turned deadly Sunday morning, according to Georgia State Patrol communications officers.
Troopers were called about 10:45 a.m. to the scene of a two-car crash on state Highway 201 at the Tunnel Hill exit from Interstate 75, dispatchers said.
According to the incident report, police had broken off their pursuit of a trio suspected of an attempted shoplifting at the Kmart on Walnut Avenue in Dalton, Ga. The driver continued speeding north on Interstate 75 and unsuccessfully tried to exit the freeway onto the two lane road, officials said.
The maroon 1994 Nissan Pathfinder was traveling too fast to make the turn onto Highway 201, hit a 1998 Ford Explorer and careened into a concrete wall where it stopped, dispatchers said.
Charles Shadwick, 35, driver of the Nissan, was taken by Life Force helicopter ambulance to Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga for treatment of injuries, but both passengers — Lori Amabile, 38, and George L. Shadwick, 63 — died at the scene, officials said.
A couple traveling in the Ford were injured in the crash and taken to Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton for treatment, according to the incident report. A child in the Ford with the couple was uninjured, officials said.
The state trooper who investigated the crash has charged Mr. Shadwick with two counts of first-degree vehicular homicide, DUI, reckless driving and violation of the Georgia seat-belt law.
Other charges are pending in the ongoing investigation, officials said.
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