An alleged drunk driver faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer, after leading several law enforcement agencies on a high speed chase through south Georgia Wednesday morning.
Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Coffee County E-911 was notified to be on the lookout for a vehicle involved in a gas drive off from Telfair/Wheeler 911.
A Coffee County deputy observed a vehicle in the area of the Douglas/Broxton Hwy. and the 206 Connector that met the description of the lookout that was given. The deputy observed the vehicle had an illegal license tag bracket affixed to the license plate and, at that time, conducted a traffic stop.
The driver pulled over on the right-of-way at Chester Ave. The deputy approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and asked the driver for his license. While waiting on the driver to produce his license, the deputy allegedly smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, along wtih noticing an open liquor bottle in the passenger seat.
Authorities say the driver then stopped looking for his license, looked at the officer, placed the vehicle in drive, and sped away, traveling on down Chester Ave. towards Ward St. The deputy then gave chase.
The driver continued to attempt to elude the deputy, and the chase continued onto Ward St. and onto Hwy 32 W. The chase continued through Irwin County and into Tift County at high speeds. Tift County deputies deployed stop sticks to attempt to disable the fleeing suspect, but were originally unsuccessful.
The driver turned onto Hwy. 125 in Tift County and slowed his vehicle, causing a pursuing officer’s vehicle to strike the rear of the fleeing vehicle. Tift County deputies again deployed stop sticks, which the fleeing vehicle ran over.
The suspect’s vehicle came to a rolling stop, and the driver exited and ran to the rear of the vehicle. The pursuing deputy, who had stopped in front of the suspect vehicle and exited to give foot chase, was forced to jump out of the way of the vehicle as it was left in drive and began to roll forward. The suspect vehicle struck the deputy’s vehicle, causing minor damage.
The driver was identified as David Lamond Lambert, age 26, of 168 Gorham St., Pembroke, GA. Lambert was charged by the Georgia State Patrol for driving under the influence and was transported to the Tift County Jail, where a hold was placed on him for Coffee County.
Lambert faces numerous charges in Coffee County that include fleeing or attempting to elude police (felony), reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, numerous traffic infractions, and aggravated assault on a police officer.