Several businesses in a northeast Atlanta strip mall were damaged Friday morning when a sports car fleeing the Georgia State Patrol crashed into a building and burst into flames.
The driver of the Porsche Cayenne was arrested and taken to a hospital following the crash along Piedmont Road near Cheshire Bridge Road, according to the State Patrol. Flames had spread to several businesses in the Piedmont Pointe plaza, including a Papa John’s, by the time fire crews arrived.
“There was a substantial amount of fire,” Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Douglas Hatcher said from the scene. “Some structural damage and sagging of the roof — that’s why we haven’t sent anybody back inside.”
According to a spokeswoman for the GSP, the chase started on the Downtown Connector when a trooper clocked the Porsche going 105 mph in a 55-mph zone. He caught up to the vehicle as it exited onto Buford Highway, but its driver took off again, Franka Young said.
“At the intersection of Cheshire Bridge and Piedmont Circle, the vehicle continued straight across the intersection, running over a raised concrete island before leaving the roadway,” she said. “The Porsche struck and traveled into a row of buildings. The driver exited the vehicle and was taken into custody.”
He was identified as Theodore Merchant, 21, of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The fire started in a finance business and spread quickly to multiple storefronts before it was contained, leaving behind charred shells and mangled metal.
“It’s not the first time a car has run into the building from that corner, but it’s the first time that it caused this much damage,” said Anita Ford, the owner of the business plaza.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Fire crews shored up the burned structure Friday before they could safely remove the wrecked Porsche. Merchant was expected to be booked into the Fulton County Jail after being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital for minor injuries.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
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