By By Arthur McLean Editor
A 16-year-old Atmore youth faces a "ton" of traffic warrants at the least after he led the Atmore Police Department on a chase through Atmore that ended near I-65 Wednesday afternoon.
Brandon Tanner fled from police in a Ford Ranger, leading them through the city of Atmore and up S.R. 21 before flipping the truck near the We Care Ministries building.
Tanner was taken to the hospital and released after he was treated for minor injuries.
Police tried to pull Tanner over when they responded to a bulletin for unauthorized use of the truck, reported to belong to Tanner's mother.
When patrolling officers spotted the truck and tried to pull it over, Tanner began to flee, according to Jason Dean, Atmore Police Chief.
The chase led officers through town and up Highway 21. Dean said he was in contact with the Alabama Highway Patrol about placing stop sticks (removable spikes) on the road to slow Tanner.
Before they had the chance to set up the spikes, Tanner drove his truck onto the dirt shoulder of the road, when pulling back on to the highway, Tanner's truck flipped and he rolled several times, said State Trooper Jimmy Dean.
Trooper Dean is in charge of investigating the incident. But Tanner has the interest of two other law enforcement agencies.
Chief Dean said Tanner faces "a ton" of traffic warrants from failure to pull over for a traffic stop to fleeing and attempting to elude police.
The Escambia County Sheriff's Office is also considering possible charges of anauthorized use of a vehicle. Officials from the Sheriff's Office did not return calls seeking information at press time.
"I'm just glad he wasn't hurt worse than he was," Chief Dean said. "It's always a tentative situation in any pursuit situation. I'm just relieved no one else was hurt and he wasn't hurt badly."
Chief Dean said Tanner's case will be referred to the jeuvenile court system.