Inset top left: The Volvo and another crashed car (Duluth Police Department body-worn camera footage/WSB-TV). Inset bottom left: The crashed Volvo (Duluth Police Department). Background: The Popeyes where James Mann allegedly went after crashing his Volvo in Duluth, Ga. (Google Maps).
A Georgia man is facing charges after causing a series of car crashes through multiple counties while high on Xanax before he stopped at Popeyes to sit down and watch the chaos unfold, Peach State law enforcement say.
James Mann, 53, stands accused of multiple counts, including driving under the influence, hit-and-run, reckless driving, and driving on the wrong side of the road, according to the Duluth Police Department.
The incident ended in a parking lot outside a Popeyes on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth – a medium-sized suburb located roughly 30 miles northeast of Atlanta and part of the broader metro area.
Before that, however, the Volvo barreled into cars in both Fulton and Gwinnett counties, according to authorities.
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On Wednesday, the alleged impaired-driving spree began in Johns Creek, police told Atlanta-based NBC affiliate WSB-TV.
There, the same beige Volvo allegedly struck several cars and then drove into nearby Duluth, hitting other drivers along the way.
Around 4:45 p.m. that day, police in Duluth received a call about a car driving on the wrong side of Pleasant Hill Road, according to another WSB-TV report.
At one point, the wayward Volvo shot over the median, police say.
By the time officers arrived, however, the driver was gone – but three other drivers remained at the scene, police said. One said their car had been hit, another said their car had been clipped, and a third said they had to make a last-second maneuver to avoid a head-on collision, according to law enforcement.
There on the road, officers found the smashed-up Volvo. The car had finally given out after its series of collisions with other drivers, coming to rest after cresting the edge of a landscaped median in front of the Popeyes.
Witnesses soon pointed police to the allegedly errant motorist.
"He was sitting in Popeyes the entire time," a Duluth police officer said in body-worn camera footage obtained by the local TV station. "He was literally sitting at that table watching everybody."
Inside, the defendant even ordered food, police allege.
Eventually, Mann walked outside, then law enforcement called him over and took him into custody, the footage shows.
Police say the defendant had droopy eyes and spoke with a slurred voice – but there was no hint or smell of alcohol. Rather, a search of the Volvo turned up a prescription bottle for 120 Xanax pills that had been filled earlier that same day. Seven pills were unaccounted for, according to law enforcement.
Later, a member of the Johns Creek Police Department trained in drug recognition said the defendant seemed to be under the influence of a central nervous system depressant, which includes Xanax.
Mann was then taken to a nearby hospital, where he was checked for drug and alcohol use and cited for the violations, police say.