Waycross man faces 18 charges in 100-mph chase that ended with PIT maneuver
A Waycross man is in the Ware County Jail facing 18 state and local charges resulting from a chase last week that injured a Georgia State Trooper.
Tracy Cameron Hilliard, 47, of the 1700 block of Holiday Street, remains jailed after having bond denied by a magistrate, Ware County Sheriff’s Major Neil Skerratt said Monday. The charges against Hilliard, a combination of felonies and misdemeanors, stem from a chase Wednesday evening, May 7 in which speeds reached more than 100 mph in rural Waycross.
GSP Trooper Justin Jones was injured in the pursuit, which ended on Swamp Road near Gilmore Drive. Jones was airlifted from the scene to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah for treatment.
The GSP said in a May 9 report Jones remained in the hospital, but was expected to be released soon. Attempts to get an update on the trooper’s condition as of press time Monday, May 12, were unsuccessful.
Attempts to secure a full report of the incident from GSP were also unsuccessful.
According to booking information, Hilliard has been charged with felony fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer (multiple, state/local), felony serious injury by a vehicle, felony aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer when engaged or on official duty, reckless driving, DUI-drugs, failure to maintain lane, driving on wrong side of a roadway, speeding over 100 mph in a 55 mph zone, improper lane change, aggressive driving, suspended, cancelled or revoked registration, seatbelt license violation, and removing or attempting to conceal a license plate.
According to published reports, the incident began around 7:44 p.m. May 7, when Jones assisted Waycross Police with a traffic stop on Washington Avenue near Brunel Street. The suspect, driving a black Chevrolet Tahoe, fled the scene, prompting officers and the trooper to initiate a pursuit.
Reports said Jones became the lead unit in the chase for several miles before attempting a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver on Swamp Road near Gilmore Drive.
The maneuver typically involves an officer’s vehicle intentionally making contact with a fleeing vehicle in an effort to spin it out and stop it.
After executing the process, the trooper’s vehicle veered onto the shoulder, overturned into a creek, and landed upside down. The suspect’s vehicle came to rest upright on top of the submerged patrol car, GSP said.
The reports said Jones lost consciousness while being partially submerged in water. He was pulled from his vehicle by multiple WPD officers, who performed life-saving measures at the scene until medical personnel arrived.
The suspect attempted to flee on foot after the crash but was arrested at the scene, the report said. He was booked into the Ware County Jail later May 7.
