By Staff
Suspect nabbed after high-speed chase through county
By Robert Blakenship
Brewton Standard
A high-speed chase across Escambia County that involved law enforcement from Brewton, Flomaton, Atmore, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office and Alabama State Troopers ended when the suspect lost control of his vehicle just south of the Brewton city limits on Hwy. 31 Friday afternoon.
Ramming into other vehicles along the way, the suspect often exceeded speeds of 100 miles per hour with a trail of law enforcement officers behind him.
Gregory Eugene Bonds, 23-year-old male of Parrish, Ala., could be charged with a number of reckless driving and related charges by the ECSO, Flomaton Police Department and the Atmore Police Department. Bonds allegedly hit a number of vehicles in the Atmore area and through the county's jurisdiction. The exact charges against Bonds could not be verified.
Attempts to reach Atmore Public Safety Director Glenn Carlee and Captain Jason Dean with the Atmore Police Department were unsuccessful Saturday.
According to Brewton Police Chief David Lovelace, the incident began with a hit-and-run incident on Interstate 65. He said Bonds exited the interstate at Atmore where he hit four vehicles.
Flomaton officials were called to prepare for the speeding 1994 Honda Accord. When they attempted to stop Bonds, he hit a police patrol car and continued along Hwy. 31 toward Brewton.
The police attempted to lay out a stop strip to force the car off the road, but were unable to set it up as the vehicle reached Brewton very quickly. He made his way into Brewton with a number of law enforcement officials pursuing him.
Rarely slowing down, Bonds took a right across the railroad track onto Hwy. 41. He immediately turned left onto St. Joseph and then back across the track, back onto Hwy. 31 north.
Lovelace said when he crossed the track the second time he hit them so hard that his tires blew.
Despite having no tires, the car continued along Hwy. 31. Just south of the city limits, Bonds lost control of the vehicle and it flipped several times before landing in a ditch.
Bonds was transported to the hospital and was later transported to the county jail.
"It could have turned into a big problem," Lovelace said. "But, the situation was handled properly. We were especially lucky here in Brewton not to have any wrecks."