Cobb County

Thieves lead police on high-speed chase after taking woman's car at gunpoint

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A high-speed chase in Marietta ended with armed robbers crashing a stolen car into a tree.

Police tell Channel 2's Matt Johnson speeds topped more than 110 mph after two men held a woman at gunpoint and stole her Mercedes.

Now the woman is terrified to be out in public.

“I was waiting to be hit by a bullet,” the victim said, asking not to be identified. “I feel traumatized. I feel like I’m trapped in my house.”

The victim said she was parked in front of her mother's home on Franklin Drive around midnight Thursday doing work for her realty business.

“I was actually sending out properties to a friend of mine,” the woman said.

Police say Francisco Cruz, 21, was one of the robbers who demanded her car.

TRENDING STORIES:

“He made it very clear that this gun was here. 'If you do anything, I’m going to shoot you,'” she told Johnson.

The woman said seeing the gun brought back a traumatic memory from when she lived in Charlotte 22 years ago.

"I was robbed at gunpoint, and my fiancé was killed," the woman said. "I know what can happen."
Next, she called 911 from her mom's house.

Police found the car because the thieves made her leave her iPhone in it.

“I was able to track my cellphone with my iPad with the Find My iPhone app," she said.

Marietta police said they authorized a chase because of the severity of the crime.

The pursuit topped speeds of 110 mph before the robbers crashed at Stephens Street and South Marietta Parkway.

Pictures from Marietta police show the car toppled over and totaled after it crashed into a tree.

Police arrested Cruz, but somehow his accomplice was able to get away.

“Knowing that he's still out there, that's a real scary feeling,” the victim said.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.