COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Two children were ejected from a car after troopers performed a PIT maneuver, ending an early morning pursuit on Interstate 85. Three other kids in the car were taken to the hospital.
The chase began with the Coweta County Sheriff's Office at 6:33 a.m. on Sunday. They were after a woman fleeing in a white 2015 Kia Sportage. When the woman made it to mile marker 53 on I-85N, Georgia State Troopers crashed into the car, sending it flying off the roadway, into an embankment and trees before it overturned.
As it flipped over, a 6-and-10-year-old were flung from the car.
Three other children were mildly injured, and sent to the hospital for treatment. Officials say none of them were in child safety seats.
The driver was identified as 31-year-old Niesha Joy Jackson. She was arrested at the scene.
It is not clear whether the troopers were aware there were children in the car, however it may be important to note the Georgia Department of Public Safety has a written policy on when the PIT maneuver should and should not be used.
"The PIT maneuver should not be used until other methods for stopping a fleeing vehicle (e.g. tire deflation devices and roadblocks) have been considered and determined not to be feasible," Section 17.02.4 of the policy manual states. "Before the Pit maneuver is used, factors that affect the safety of using the technique should be considered."
Among other things, those factors include whether children are visible in the vehicle, and whether the occupants are wearing seatbelts.
Jackson has been charged with fleeing and attempting to elude police officers, serious injury by vehicle, improper turn (signals required), no proof of insurance, safety belts (required usage) and speeding. She's being held at the Coweta County Jail without bond.
The current condition of each of the five children has not been made public.
This investigation remains ongoing.