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Police: Biker leads officers on chase
Vernon-Tyson

A man was arrested after leading officers from Liberty County and Fort Stewart on a high-speed chase that ended in a wreck around midday Thursday, authorities said.
The chase began when Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Geoff Harriman tried to stop a motorcycle that was speeding on North Coastal Highway around 11:15 a.m., sheriff’s office spokeswoman Christina Tuten said.
The suspect, identified as Vernon Tyson, was heading southbound and gave Harriman an indication he was going to stop, but he instead continued driving, Tuten said.
Harriman notified the 911 center that he was chasing the motorcyclist at Bacontown Road and Highway 84. Midway Police Chief Kelli Morningstar and Officer Mark Rich joined the chase, which led them onto Old Sunbury Road in Flemington.
Tyson is alleged to have reached speeds up to 110 mph as he entered Fort Stewart still, Tuten said. Tyson reportedly led the officers through Fort Stewart onto Highway 144 eastbound toward Richmond Hill, according to Tuten.
Before he would have exited Fort Stewart, Tyson took a left onto a tank trail, which caused some of the pursuing officers to pull back. He continued on the tank trail, taking a right onto another dirt road that led back to Highway 144, Tuten said.
“It’s extremely muddy back there,” Georgia State Patrol Trooper Lyle Thurmond said.
Tyson took another side road and, because of the conditions, slowed down but eventually lost control of his bike and crashed. He hit a patch of mud, his motorcycle fishtailed and went sideways, and he was thrown from the motorcycle, according to Thurmond.
Tyson then led Harriman on a foot chase until the deputy caught up to him in a ditch, Tuten said.
Tyson was found to be under the influence of methamphetamine and had a large amount of the narcotics in the motorcycle saddlebag, according to Tuten and Thurmond. Tyson was transported to the Liberty County jail.
He was charged Thursday evening with trafficking in cocaine, illegal drugs, marijuana or methamphetamine; DUI; reckless driving, driving while license suspended, no proof of insurance and numerous traffic violations.
Thurmond added that Tyson complained of minor injuries from being thrown from the motorcycle, “but nothing that would send him to the hospital.”

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