Habersham County Sheriff’s Office officials arrested a Dahlonega man Saturday afternoon following a vehicle chase that started in the western part of the county and ended near Helen in White County, according to the county’s public information officer.
Clayton Avery Dix, 27, was clocked at 73 mph by the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Unit around 4:30 pm. The incident happened on Ben T. Huiet Highway, also called Ga. 255 Alternate, according to Public Information Officer Rob Moore.
“[Sergeant Chris Hall] attempted to pull the vehicle over for speeding, but the vehicle failed to yield and fled with speeds at one point reaching in excess of 100 mph,” Moore said.
Hall attempted to perform several PIT maneuvers to stop Dix before the chase entered into White County; however, Dix was able to swerve and that’s when he allegedly tried to force Hall off the road. The chase reached Ga. 75 at Indian Mound and Hardman Farm before Dix’s vehicle could be stopped, he said.
“Sargent Hall was able to get in front of the fleeing vehicle with another deputy and our special operations lieutenant right behind him,” Moore said. “The lieutenant was able to PIT the vehicle before Nora Mill to prevent the speeding driver from entering the holiday weekend traffic in Helen.”
Dix, who was wanted in Lumpkin County on a failure to appear charge, was arrested on the scene. He was charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, fleeing and attempting to elude, two counts of driving on the wrong side of the road, failure to obey a stop sign, three counts of speeding and defective tires.
Dix remained in the Habersham County Detention Center at last report, according to Moore.
