COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — A College Park taxi driver was killed after crashing into a tree late Monday.
The crash happened near the Riverdale Road ramp on Interstate 85 North. College Park police officers said they found the driver trapped in his taxi after he crashed into a tree near the roadway. There was no one else in the car at the time.
Police believe the driver, Karl Green, was being chased at speeds up to 70 mph when he crashed. Police said the woman following Green was trying to get his license plate number because he rear-ended her on Old National Highway and took off.
Police said the pair had a conversation at an Exxon gas station shortly before the first crash.
"We have surveillance in the area, and we can see that there was conversation between the two," College Park Police Chief Ron Fears told Channel 2's Rachel Stockman.
Police said the woman has not come in for an interview because she is still recovering from minor injuries from the crash. Investigators are trying to put together exactly what happened leading up to the crash.
Channel 2 Action News was at the scene as Green's mangled taxi was towed away. The Riverdale Road exit was shut down for hours while crews worked to clear the crash. Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were also at the scene with officers.
Friends said Green, 30, began working for the Day and Night taxi company six months ago.
"He was a young cab driver. I'm a young driver. It's very shocking to see something like this happen," Dameon DeClue said.
Green's girlfriend said she was on the phone with him moments before the crash and blamed it on the driver in the first crash.
"He's not here today because of her. She pursued the argument with him," Antoinette Jones said.
She said she heard a woman trying to sell her boyfriend CDs at the Exxon, and he knew her from another run-in.
"From what I was told, she stole his cellphone, so he knew her," Jones said.
She also said the woman rear-ended her boyfriend, not the other way around. A witness, who requested anonymity, also said the woman was antagonizing Green and was about two inches from his bumper when she followed him.
Jones said Green's children have been robbed of their father.
"My kids have to grow up without a father that they loved," Jones said.
WSBTV
