What ended Dec. 13 as a car chase in Peachtree City and snarled traffic began a day earlier when a 70-year-old man in southeast Coweta County stabbed his 41-year-old son. Coweta County deputies on Dec. 13 located the man in Peachtree City and disabled his vehicle when it crossed the median on Ga. Highway 74 and put oncoming drivers at risk.
Maj. James Yarbrough, of the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, said Terrill Levon Myers during an argument stabbed his 41-year-old son in the abdomen with a pocket knife at the son’s residence on Glazier Farms Court near Haralson. Yarbrough said the son was transported for treatment and is recovering.
Warrants were issued for Myers’ arrest, said Yarbrough.
Yarbrough said Coweta deputies on Dec. 14 received word that Myers’ vehicle was spotted in the Kroger parking lot on Crosstown Drive.
Myers made it to his car before deputies could approach him, and subsequently drove onto Crosstown Drive, onto Hwy. 74 North then east on Kelly Drive, south on Peachtree Parkway then west on Crosstown and back onto Hwy. 74 North, said Yarbrough.
Some area motorists witnessing the pursuit noted the slow pace at which it unfolded, though at times Myers’ vehicle reached speeds of up to 65 miles per hour, Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough said the chase came to an end when Myers returned to Hwy.74 North. He crossed the median south of Kelly Drive and entered the southbound lanes of Hwy. 74. Coweta deputies at that point moved in, cut Myers off and disabled his vehicle to keep him away from oncoming traffic.
The culmination of the incident that led to Myers being taken into custody had traffic on the heavily-traveled Hwy. 74 backed up for an hour.
One of the motorists in the immediate area when Myers’ vehicle was disabled was Sharla Smith Hardin.
“My daughter and I were sitting at the corner of Crosstown and (Hwy.) 74 making a right hand turn onto (Hwy.) 74. A police car pulled into the middle of the intersection to stop traffic. We heard sirens. My daughter described them as ‘panoramic’ as in coming from all directions. So, I stayed where I was. We were in the turning lane.
“I saw a car rapidly approaching us from behind. Then, it sped around us, making a right hand turn in front of us. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but, I thought that it was very rude! Then several police cars followed behind the driver one after another. I told my daughter it looked like we were in the middle of an episode of ‘COPS!’
“After the cars made the right hand turn onto (Hwy.) 74 North, additional police cars were heading south towards the vehicle.
“The police cars boxed in the car, and the driver made a left hand turn over the median and side-swiped a police SUV, ending up facing southbound on (Hwy.) 74.
“My daughter, Jessica (9 years old), grabbed my iPhone and started taking pictures and video. … It was intense to watch it happen in person. But, in my opinion, the police did an outstanding job of carefully routing the driver into an area away from other vehicles. It was obviously a strategically executed procedure,” Hardin said.
Myers was transported to the Coweta County Jail. He was on probation for drug trafficking and also has a prior conviction for armed robbery, said Yarbrough.
“He has a long criminal history,” Yarbrough said. “I believe he’s where he belongs for Christmas.”
