Georgia Trooper Pursues Stolen Mercedes Being Tailed By Undercover Officer || Major Crash!

On March 25th, 2023 at approximately 1758 hours, the Atlanta Police Department requested the assistance of the Georgia State Patrol in reference to an under cover Officer traveling behind a stolen Silver Mercedes Benz SUV bearing Florida tag 31BTPV. I responded to the area of I-20 east bound at Martin Luther King Dr to intercept the vehicle. The undercover Officer stated a black male was the driver of the vehicle. The undercover Atlanta officer advised via radio that the stolen vehicle was accelerating rapidly as it entered onto I-20 east from Holmes Dr and that he was losing a visual. As he provided this information, I observed the stolen vehicle round the curve at a high rate of speed as it weaved through traffic with no police presence behind it. As the vehicle passed my location, I activated my emergency equipment and got behind it. The vehicle failed to yield, initiating a vehicle pursuit. The stolen vehicle operated in a reckless manner as it weaved through traffic at excessive speeds and operated shoulder to shoulder nearly causing multiple accidents. The pursuit continued east on I-20 and exited onto Mcdaniel Street southbound. The pursuit continued through multiple city streets as the stolen vehicle disregarded red lights and passed other vehicles on the wrong side of the road. The pursuit made its way to University Avenue and over to Metropolitan Parkway north bound. The stolen vehicle traveled through a private parking lot narrowly missing a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk. As the pursuit approached Gillette Avenue on Metropolitan Parkway, there was heavy traffic present on both sides of the roadway as the stolen vehicle attempted to overtake the north bound lanes by passing on a double yellow. The stolen vehicle struck the rear of a vehicle in front of it, causing it to veer into the southbound lanes and strike another vehicle head on. The stolen vehicle ultimately struck seven other vehicles during the crash before rolling over and coming to an uncontrolled rest. The male driver and female passenger of the stolen vehicle began fleeing on foot down Gillette Avenue. A foot pursuit ensued west bound on Gillette Avenue before the driver ran behind several houses and was able to hide for a brief period of time. A perimeter was set up along with the help of the Atlanta Police Aviation Unit “Phoenix”. The driver reappeared wearing nothing but his underwear and walked past Trooper Pyland. Troper Pyland confronted the male due to his suspicious activity and detained him with the help of Atlanta Police Officers. A positive identification was made on the male as “Michael Smith”. A debit card was located in the stolen vehicle belonging to Smith that also linked him to the vehicle. Smith’s clothes that he discarded were located nearby and returned to him as a perfect fit. Smith was turned over to Atlanta Police where they assumed custody. I assumed primary on the crash investigation. Note: This incident was audio and video recorded on DVR by the investigating Trooper #795.