Decatur Carjack Ends In Crash on South Candler

A carjacking that started in downtown Decatur Wednesday morning ended when the stolen SUV crashed and overturned on South Candler Street at Kirk Road.

A resident said she saw officers arrest a young man who crawled out of the wreckage. Details of the actual carjacking were not available Wednesday morning but Patch is seeking details from Decatur police about the incident.

This is Decatur’s third major face-to-face crime in three days.

On Monday night, two men fought with an Oakhurst resident when they tried to steal his laptop. On Tuesday afternoon, three young men robbed three women at the Oakhurst Park playground.  At least one suspect carried a pistol in both those incidents.

Other crimes near Decatur may be related. A woman was shot to death Tuesday night during a home invasion robbery in East Atlanta, about four miles from Oakhurst, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A woman in Gibson Park in Kirkwood was shot in the leg Tuesday afternoon during a cell phone robbery.

South Candler Road resident Wendie Clark said she was drinking coffee on her porch when she heard a loud sound on the street.

“I saw a car going faster than I have ever seen a car go on this street straddling the sidewalk and the street,” she said. “He flipped and the police were on him like that.”

Clark said she ran inside a few seconds and came out to see Decatur police arresting a young man who looked to be 17 or 18 years old.

Clark said a neighbor told her the young man crawled out of the wreckage and lay on the street. The neighbor saw officers remove a pistol from the SUV wreckage, Clark said.

Before the crash was cleared, police escorted a woman to the wreckage and handed her objects from inside the SUV. Police also removed at least one child seat from the SUV.

The wreck following the carjacking blocked South Candler Road, just south of the Kirk Road intersection, for about an hour.

The stolen SUV knocked over at least one mailbox and a Marta bus stop sign.