A South Carolina fugitive, center, was accused of striking an officer with a stolen vehicle. (Bacon County Sheriff's Office)
The hunt for a fugitive who allegedly struck a Georgia deputy with a stolen car and fled the scene on Monday ended when authorities found the suspect 35 feet up a tree after abandoning the vehicle, WJCL reported.
The Bacon County Sheriff’s office had responded to reports of a "suspicious vehicle" in the parking lot of a convenience store in Alma, Ga. Authorities learned that the vehicle was reported missing from South Carolina. When responding officers approached the vehicle, the driver sped away "at a high rate of speed," striking one of the officers, the station reported.
The officer, Deputy Nicole McElroy, was severely bruised by the impact, the sheriff's office said.
Deputy Nicole McElroy was injured by a driver in the parking lot of an Alma convenience store. (Bacon County Sheriff's Office)
Authorities pursued the driver until he stopped, abandoned the vehicle, and ran into the woods, WALB News 10 reported.
Multiple agencies scoured the woods before finding the suspect 35 feet up a tree. He was identified by authorities as 39-year-old Joseph Allen Tuten, according to the report.
Tuten was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, theft by taking a motor vehicle, felony fleeing and eluding law enforcement, among multiple traffic citations.
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