Authorities have identified a suspect who wrecked his vehicle early Wednesday morning while attempting to evade Columbus police.
Xavier Shaquille Ward, 21, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, is in Lowndes County Adult Detention Center facing a felony fleeing in a motor vehicle charge along with a slew of misdemeanor charges, Columbus Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton told The Dispatch.
Police engaged in a “chase at varying speeds” over several miles starting at about 3:30 a.m. Shelton said an officer observed Ward sitting in a vehicle in the Motel 6 parking lot off Highway 45 and “rolling a marijuana joint.” When the officer tapped on the driver’s side window, the suspect drove away from the scene.
Columbus Public Information Officer Joe Dillon said the chase continued on Highway 45 and Waverly Ferry Road before winding back onto the highway and ultimately ending on Bluecutt Road where the suspect wrecked his vehicle near the Huddle House at the Military Road intersection.
During the chase, Dillon said the suspect attempted to hit a pursuing officer head-on. The officer swerved to avoid a collision, and no officers or city property were damaged, he added.
Officers arrested Ward at the wreck scene, and an ambulance took him to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle for treatment. Shelton said he was later released from the hospital and booked in the jail.
Ward’s misdemeanor charges include possession of marijuana, failure to obey a police officer, resisting arrest, reckless driving and driving with a suspended driver’s license, Shelton added. His total bond for those charges is set at $2,403.
His bond has not yet been set for the felony charge.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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