Woman Allegedly Leads Police on Chase Through Cartersville That Ends in Crash

A Cartersville woman accused of leading police on a chase through town that ended in a crash had an outstanding warrant for her arrest and no driver's license, police say.

An officer Monday spotted Ashley Michelle Perkinson's blue Crown Victoria on Highway 41 near Gentilly Boulevard shortly after 10 p.m., according to the Cartersville Police Department incident report, attached.

"I was finishing a traffic stop waiting to pull into the roadway when I observed the Crown Victoria brake hard and make a abrupt turn onto Gentilly Boulevard," the officer wrote. "I followed the vehicle due to acting very suspicious, the vehicle turned into...Nelson Furniture.

"The vehicle acted like it was going to go behind Nelson Furniture, then the vehicle made a sharp right turn and accelerated through the parking lot so I could not get close behind the vehicle."

The pursuit continued onto North Tennessee Street, West Felton Road, Jones Mill Road, Grassdale Road and several nearby streets, such as Dogwood Drive, reaching speeds up to 89 mph in 35- to 45-mph zones, officers report.

Perkinson, 22, of Parkway North in Cartersville, allegedly ran stop signs, passed cars on double-yellow lines and in the gore, drove on the wrong side of the road and drove without headlights during the chase, which ended about 40 minutes later with a crash.

As Georgia State Patrol troopers were preparing to take over the pursuit and after Perkinson allegedly drove into a yard, striking the guard wire of a power pole, her Crown Vic turned left off Grassdale Road, a move that would bring the incident to an end.

"When the vehicle turned onto Pinewood Road, I observed that it slid into the ditch on the right side of the road and rolled up onto the passenger's side, allowing me to see the entire under carriage of the vehicle, before coming back down on all four wheels," wrote another officer involved in the chase. "I also observed that when the vehicle was back on all four wheels that the driver had the gas pedal pressed as the rear tires were spinning and I could hear the motor revving."

Perkinson, then held at gunpoint, got out of the car and was arrested by officers who forced her to the ground. She was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude police, reckless driving, driving without a license, failure to stop at a stop sign, driving without headlights and duty upon striking fixture.

She also faces an unrelated financial transaction card fraud charge.

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