A woman’s emotions at seeing her fiancé and father of her child with another woman at a motel this weekend apparently led to a chase from Laurens up I-385 to Gray Court then back to Laurens on Highway 14.
Laurens Police Officer Patrick Craven was at Ace Hardware responding to an alarm call at 4:20 Saturday morning when he heard the revving of engines. He reported looking toward the road to observe 2 vehicles that appeared to be racing as they were switching lanes at high speeds. Then one car took a left into the County Courthouse parking lot at Hillcrest Square and the other car followed, appearing to almost collide. Officer Craven noted that as both vehicles approached Hillcrest Drive from another driveway, exiting the county parking lot, the first car, silver Chrysler 300, came to a stop and the second car, a dark-color Toyota Camry, struck the back of the Chrysler. A woman driving the Toyota reportedly exited the car and proceeded to the driver’s side of the Chrysler and began cursing and screaming at a man who was driving it. Officer Craven had the woman return to her car. He spoke to the man who said he had exited his car at the motel on US 221 north at the Waffle House when he observed the woman, his children’s mother and finance, sitting in her car in the parking lot. He had been at the motel with another woman, at which point he left the premises and was followed by his fiancé. He said she followed and chased him at high speeds to Gray Court and then into Laurens. He said when he saw Officer Craven’s patrol car at Ace hardware he decided to turn into the courthouse and hopefully get some help, or that perhaps his child’s mother would stop chasing him. Officer Craven then spoke with the woman who said her fiancé had said he was going out with some of his friends, but when he hadn’t returned home around 2am she became suspicious and went looking for him. She advised she observed his car at the motel on 221 North and sat in the parking lot waiting for him. She said when he came out of the motel her emotions took over and she did follow him and give chase.
The ‘other woman’ in the car with the man called and had someone come pick her up. She was released to leave. Neither the man nor his fiancé involved in the chase wanted to press charges against the other. Police decided not to pursue charges either, and released both. The woman was going to return to their residence in Laurens while the man was going to his parent’s home in Gray Court for the night.