Crime & Safety

GCPD to Search Lake Lucerne for Third Day for Suspect

Police are looking for a hit-and-run suspect reported missing after he crashed into a police car early Sunday morning.

 

Gwinnett County Police will scour Lake Lucerne for a third day Wednesday as the search continues for a that happened over the weekend.

The driver, a man in his early 20s, crashed into a patrol car on Highway 78 at Lake Lucerne Drive just after midnight Sunday morning, police said. He then drove off and turned onto a road alongside the lake, where he hit a utility pole and continued to flee on foot, heading toward the lake.

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Police dogs traced the man's scent to a pier before the search ended Sunday. The search began anew Monday afternoon, after the suspect's family said they feared he had drowned because they had not heard from him, and he can't swim. The search continued Tuesday.

"We were unable to locate the subject and plan to be out there again" Wednesday, Major John Strickland, commander of the South Precinct, said in an email to Patch.

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The officer whose car was struck had minor injuries and won't be able to work for a week, Strickland said Monday.

The Gwinnett County Police Department has used helicopters with infrared technology, a boat with SONAR equipment and a cadaver dog to try and find the suspect. Forsyth County's Water Rescue unit has been assisting.


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