ATLANTA — Family members of the innocent bystander killed after Georgia State Patrol chased a driver say what happened is hard to process.
The cousin of 51-year-old Chatanna Patterson says it’s so unbelievable she is gone, and another cousin is in the hospital.
“I just can’t. I can’t process this right now,” said Ashley, a cousin who only wanted to share her first name.
GSP says Patterson was killed after a driver they were chasing crashed into a car at the Shell gas station on Hill Street in Southeast Atlanta just before 3 p.m. Memorial Day.
Family members say Patterson was standing outside her sister Heather McLaughin’s car when the car crashed into them. The family says Heather is in the hospital in a lot of pain.
Ashley says it’s hard to believe her cousin is gone.
“That ain’t even hit me yet. And I got to run down here to go check on my other cousin that was involved in it,” she said.
GSP says it tried to stop 26-year-old Fre’shun White for going 90 miles per hour on I-20 that afternoon.
Troopers say he drove recklessly on and off the interstate. They say White then sped off the interstate, lost control, and hit Heather’s car, which then hit Chatanna, who was standing nearby.
“This is insane.” That’s what public safety advocate Devin Barrington-Ward said about this incident and the others where innocent bystanders have died after GSP chases.
He thinks the chases should stop, and GSP should use technology to catch suspected criminals.
“You mean to tell me we don’t have a camera system, a system of drones and all these other things that the public has not always supported ... that can bring in people who are suspected of a crime,” he said.
Charles Atkins Jr. agrees. He lost his sister, Tamara Taylor, when a driver being chased by GSP crashed into her, killing her in 2024.
“I think they need to stop,” he said.
White faces First-Degree Vehicular Homicide and other charges.
Heather McLaughin will have to undergo more surgery Wednesday.
GSP says this incident is a painful reminder of the dangers created when drivers make reckless decisions and run from law enforcement.
Barrington-Ward thinks GSP should be held accountable and face scrutiny just like the drivers involved in these deadly crashes.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
