High speed chase lands 2 in jail
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Two people were injured Saturday after a high-speed pursuit in Opp that sent two others to jail.
Opp Police Chief Mike McDonald said a man and his step-daughter sustained minor injuries when their 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix was struck by two men fleeing a police chase.
McDonald said the events began when officers attempted to stop a 1993 Lincoln Town Car for speeding on U.S. Hwy. 331 North just before 9 p.m. Saturday. Soon, officers found themselves in a high-speed pursuit, he said.
It wasn’t long before the officers found out why the driver – a 17-year-old juvenile from Tennessee – fled, sometimes, at a speed of 100 mph, and ran several red lights.
“The car, it was stolen from Columbia, Tenn., earlier that day,” McDonald said.
McDonald said as the driver approached the intersection of Ala. Hwy. 229 and U.S. Hwy. 331, he turned off his headlights, ran the light and collided with the family’s car.
“Luckily, the man and his step-daughter were only slightly injured,” he said. The two were sent to Mizell Memorial Hospital for treatment.
McDonald said after the vehicles collided, the driver and his passenger – 20-year-old Zachary Nathan Peppin of Seguin, Texas – fled the scene on foot, but were later taken into custody.
“This was just one of those things,” he said. “The two men weren’t related, said they met one another on the street.”
The juvenile driver was remanded to the department of youth services on felony attempting to elude, assault, resisting arrest, bringing stolen property into the state and multiple traffic violations.
Peppin, who wasn’t charged with the traffic violations, faces identical charges, as well as minor in possession of alcohol. He was booked into the Covington County Jail and held on a $36,000 bond.