Authorities have identified a man and woman who were killed Friday evening after leading Coweta County deputies on a high-speed chase and crashing into a tree in south Fulton County.
The chase began near the intersection of Collinsworth and Weldon roads when a Kia Forte with a burned-out headlight passed two deputies who were parked on the side of the road about 8:30 p.m., according to a Coweta County Sheriff’s Office incident report.
As one of the deputies pulled into the road, he saw the vehicle illegally pass a car that was stopped at a red light before turning right onto Collinsworth Road, authorities said. In his report, the deputy noted the vehicle “appeared to already be fleeing from me before I activated my emergency equipment.”
The license plate on the car was registered to a different vehicle, authorities said. The deputy activated his lights and siren, but the Kia sped away.
“The suspect vehicle passed multiple cars by crossing double yellow lines and entering the opposite lane of travel,” the sheriff’s office said, adding the car reached speeds of up to 70 mph as it entered Palmetto. “Due to the speeds and nature of the roads, Coweta County deputies were a short distance behind the fleeing vehicle and lost sight of it.”
Deputies said the 30-year-old driver lost control and slammed into a tree near Fayetteville Road and Taylor Circle, killing him and his 28-year-old passenger. The driver, later identified as Jamaal Willis-Powell, was trapped in the mangled vehicle. His passenger, Jasmine Simone Hayes, was ejected from the car.
Willis-Powell had arrest warrants stemming from felony burglary charges out of Gwinnett County and Hayes was wanted on obstruction, theft by receiving and a weapons charge by Palmetto police, authorities said.
Investigators said the police chase lasted less than two minutes and ended 1.7 miles from where it began. The Georgia State Patrol is handling the crash investigation.
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