A violent carjacking started a police chase in Hardeeville, ended in Savannah crash

Two teenagers whom Hardeeville officials say are connected to a violent carjacking are being held in Savannah after crashing a stolen car and leading police on a chase that crossed state lines.

Hardeeville Police Department Chief Sam Woodward said Tibias Alston, 17, of Ridgeland, and an unnamed minor female have been charged with carjacking, armed robbery and attempted murder after allegedly hitting a woman with a pistol and stealing her car early Sunday morning.

The woman picked up the teens in Bluffton and drove them to Hardeeville, where the carjacking occurred, Woodward said.

“They hit her a couple of times with the butt of a pistol,” he said.

They then took her car and left her on the side of the road. The woman reported the crime and, hours later, Hardeeville police located the stolen car.

They chased the vehicle to the Georgia state line and followed it into Savannah, where it crashed on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Woodward said his officers had turned off their blue lights before the crash and were just following the vehicle to keep it in sight while requesting assistance from Savannah authorities.

“The (stolen) car ended up hitting a tree,” Woodward said, adding that the suspects ran away after the accident.

Savannah-Chatham Metorpolitan Police spokesperson Cpl. Hillary Nielsen confirmed the crash but declined to comment further on the incident.

The Chatham County Jail’s website says Alston is being held for extradition and is charged with obstruction, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a pistol by someone under 18.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 10:07 AM with the headline "A violent carjacking started a police chase in Hardeeville, ended in Savannah crash."