Three teenagers were arrested early Sunday morning after an armed carjacking and police chase.
At approximately 1:45 a.m., Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office deputies engaged in a pursuit involving armed carjacking suspects. The carjacking in question had just occurred at 902 Dallas Road, and the pursuit included Chattanooga Police and Red Bank Police Department personnel. As the chase continued onto Ashland Terrace, due to the danger posed by the suspects, deputies were given supervisory approval to perform a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle and assumed the primary lead in the pursuit.
The suspect vehicle, a 2022 Hyundai Kona, then took Access Road from Ashland Terrace and proceeded to get on Dupont Parkway. A PIT maneuver was attempted with contact being made on several occasions throughout the pursuit; however, due to the to the suspect swerving back and forth in between lanes and hitting their brakes, initial attempts were not successful.
Throughout the pursuit, the suspect showed total disregard for the safety of innocent motorists, police said.
The pursuit continued on Amnicola Highway throughout East Chattanooga until it reached Milne Street when another PIT maneuver was successfully attempted by deputies. After the PIT occurred, the vehicle left the roadway and struck the corner of a vacant structure.
Two occupants fled the vehicle and a foot pursuit ensued. Deputies utilized a taser to get one suspect into custody and Chattanooga Police and Red Bank Police assisted with taking the other two suspects into custody.
All three occupants in the vehicle were juveniles. The driver was 15, and the two occupants were 16 and 13.
A firearm was located lying on the ground beside the passenger side door.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is working the crash into the vacant structure. EMS responded to the scene to medically evaluate the juvenile who was tased. The Chattanooga Police Department took custody of all three suspects and charges will be filed including, but not limited to, resisting arrest and evading charges relating to HCSO's involvement.