Robbery Suspect ID'd In Deadly Metro Atlanta Crash: Reports

BUCKHEAD, GA — Authorities have identified the suspect in a fatal two-car crash and string of robberies in metro Atlanta, per media reports.

The incident began Monday night at a fast-food restaurant at Decatur Village Way in DeKalb County, both Fox 5 Atlanta and Atlanta News First reported.

Santario Barnwell, 23, was accused of pepper spraying a number of staffers at the eatery and removing cash from the register, reports say.

Barnwell fled the scene, and as an officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, Barnwell led a police chase, Atlanta News First reported. The chase ended in a crash near Peachtree and Piedmont roads Northeast, where Richard O. Wells Jr., a 26-year-old New Yorker, died of his injuries, the news outlet reported.

Barnwell has been connected to robberies in Sandy Springs and other parts of DeKalb, Fox 5 and ANF reported.

Charges against Barnwell, who had to be taken to a hospital following the crash, were not immediately known. The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the crash.