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DeKalb I-20 pursuit ends in 10-car wreck that kills 7-month-old
A 7-month-old died and two other infants were hospitalized after a Georgia State Patrol pursuit ended in a 10-vehicle crash on I-20 in DeKalb County. The fatal wreck has renewed calls for stricter limits on police chases.
A 7-month-old child was killed and two other infants were taken to a hospital after a Georgia State Patrol pursuit ended in a 10-car crash on Interstate 20 in DeKalb County late Saturday night, authorities said.
State investigators said 33-year-old Cameron Gabriel Kemp was speeding and weaving through traffic without headlights when a trooper tried to stop him. Kemp continued driving recklessly, authorities said, before losing control on the Wesley Chapel Road exit ramp. His vehicle crashed, setting off a chain collision involving 10 cars.
Witness Jacques Hall arrived moments after the wreck. He described a chaotic scene, with people shouting and trying to reach babies trapped in vehicles.
The crash has renewed debate over when police should pursue drivers. Activist Devin Barrington-Ward, who has spent a decade urging elected officials and law enforcement agencies to adopt tighter pursuit rules, said chases over traffic violations can compound danger on the road. “It is not safe to add more speeding onto a dangerous speeding situation,” he said.
Georgia State Patrol defended the trooper’s decision, saying a driver traveling at extreme speeds in darkness without headlights and maneuvering recklessly posed an immediate threat to other road users. The agency also expressed condolences to the child’s family.
The patrol is investigating. It was not immediately clear what charges Kemp might face in connection with the pursuit and crash.