High-speed chase begins in Atlanta

Reports of a reckless driver on East Main Street in Atlanta, Texas last Wednesday afternoon soon turned into a wild high-speed pursuit after a concerned citizen reported a driver making U-turns in the middle of the roadway, according to an Atlanta Police Department release.

“Dispatch received a call concerning a reckless driver on East Main Street with the caller reporting that the vehicle was making multiple U-turns in the roadway and then sitting in the roadway with the hazard lights flashing,” the APD release read. “The caller reported that this had been happening for several minutes prior to (her) reporting it to the police.

The chase began after Officer Marty Spriggs, with APD, located the driver – later identified as 30-year-old Ashley Nicole Winston – on East Main St., but was unable to get Winston to stop the vehicle.

APD reported both Captain Greg Restelle and Detective Sergeant Jeb Newkirk joined the pursuit as it turned onto N. Williams Street and continued north onto Holly Street near Atlanta High School.

“The vehicle then turned onto Sportsplex Drive and into the parking lot of Eastwood Apartments, where it struck another vehicle that was parked in the parking lot,” the release stated.

Winston refused to exit the vehicle once more.

“At which time the vehicle backed into an APD patrol unit and again into the same parked vehicle, all the while officers were attempting to remove (Winston) from the vehicle,” reports stated. “This resulted in an Atlanta Officer being injured.”

Afterward, Winston reportedly accelerated towards another Officer in an attempt to strike that Officer before continuing back onto Holly Street, towards East Main Street where she hit a high rate of speed throughout Atlanta, “almost striking multiple vehicles and running vehicles off the road until reaching Loop 59,” according to APD reports.

Reports state Winston kept speeding north on Loop 59 through the intersection at Emma Lena Way by McDonald’s and Walmart and continued racing toward Queen City.

“APD would like to thank the Queen City Police Department for their assistance with shutting down the intersections in their city so that the pursuit could safely get through their city and for covering the City of Atlanta for calls while the APD units were involved in the pursuit,” representatives for APD stated.

During the course of the pursuit, officers learned that the vehicle had been stolen earlier in the day out of Texarkana, Texas.

“The pursuit continued north on US Highway 59 at a very high rate of speed into Bowie County,” APD reps said. “Spike strips were deployed on the vehicle once in Bowie County.

Winston continued driving north on US 59, including on the wrong side of the highway and into oncoming traffic, where spike strips were again deployed on the vehicle as the chase crossed onto South Lake Drive, according to APD reports.

“The vehicle then began to swerve from one side of the roadway to the other until it ultimately crashed out into multiple vehicles that were parked in a parking lot in the 2500 block of S. Lake Drive,” reports stated. “The pursuit also resulted in a Bowie County Sheriff ’s Office (unit) being wrecked. The Atlanta Police Department is extremely grateful that the (BCSO) deputy driving that vehicle was not seriously injured as a result of that crash.”

Winston, 30, of Texarkana was taken by LifeNet to Wadley Regional Medical Center for minor injuries received in the crash.

Winston was then booked into the Bi-State Jail initially on one count of evading arrest or detention with a vehicle.

“APD would like to thank QCPD, Cass County Sheriff ’s Office, BCSO and the Texas Highway Patrol for their assistance with bringing this pursuit to as safe of an end as possible,” APD said in a release. “APD wishes the injured APD officer, BCSO deputy, and Ms. Winston a speedy and complete healing of their injuries sustained as a result of the pursuit.”

“Numerous other charges against Ms. Winston are pending,” police said.

As of press time, Winston was also being held for unauthorized use of a vehicle, said Sgt David Gipson, with BCSO.

An anonymous source who alerted authorities to the reckless driver said she called the cops because she saw a woman driving sporadically “It was like she was drunk,” the source said. “She was swerving all over the road, stopping randomly and turning her flashers off and on. So I called the police station and told the dispatcher what was going on …I followed the lady to make sure she didn’t get away… she kept driving like she was completely screwed up on something and I didn’t want her causing a serious car crash.”

The source said she kept the dispatcher informed of where the driver was headed, and after about 10 minutes of following Winston “she pulls into the Avalon apartments driveway and just stops.”

“A local officer showed up,” the source said. “He stops and gets out to walk up to her car and she just like … took straight off towards downtown, flying, so the cop runs back to his car, gets in, and takes off after her.”

This is a developing story as we await updated charges.